The Aftermath: The Generation to Come
by Avion Jade
Summary: Follow the trails and tribulations of the next generation of Cadets as they struggle to find their way in the darkest of circumstances. What evil awaits them and how does it relate to the mysterious girl, Kaidia Dos-Santos. 28 Years post game.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer

I don't particularly feel like repeating a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter for this story so the one here is meant for the entire length of this fan fiction. I do not own Final Fantasy VIII and the original characters but am borrowing them for this story. I do however own any unrecognizable characters that will appear in this story.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

_'Mental Communication'_

Note: Kaidia is pronounced Kay-de-a (at least in my mind it is.)

* * *

It had been a hard few days…

The girl, Kaidia Dos-Santos, sighed as she glanced back down at the book she was holding, having just checked on the time once more. It was currently half past 0100 hours, exactly five minutes from when she last checked. The alarm was set for 0600 hours, exactly an hour before she had been told she had to be awake by. Her one hand brushed her dark chocolate coloured curls off her face, and then when it was gathered back together, having been re-braided into control using a handy dark blue ribbon. But a second later she sighed with frustration as the strands fell free once more to hang messily across her face.

Glancing up, she caught her features in a mirror that she usually did not bother to look in. Her dark chocolate hair fell and partially hid even gray - blue eyes, which looked like a deeper blue now that the ribbon was in her hair. She knew quite well that she was pretty, but didn't really care enough to add to her features with makeup. Her heart shaped face was accented by light eyes and dark hair, and attracted enough attention without the additional help. The situation would be intolerable if more was attracted deliberately by herself.

Turning her attention back to the book, she was suddenly annoyed at her unwavering expression staring back at her from the mirror. This particular book was her savior, her mantra, her hope and peace…when the outside world looked so scary, threatening or hopeless she would return to this book. Or when her inside world became so chaotic and choked with thoughts and flickers of biting memories haunted her sleep, she would find solace reading this book. Over and over, cover to cover, even up and down sometimes. When she returned from classes, she would refer to it as an instinct…to see if she had gotten the correct answer for the situation. As a result, she had the entire book memorized and frequently would recite it to friends and Instructors by whole. It had become her lifeline; the SeeD manual.

'Do I depend on this too much?' she thought to herself as she ran her smooth hand down its creamy page, browning and crinkled due to years of use. Most students deliberately lost their SeeD manuals' several times and were given new ones. But hers she kept with her, and, as far as she could remember, it was her first copy of the precious book.

Not that she wanted to remember very far back.

Her short term memory was incredibly detailed, listing information in categories; like interesting, boring but useful, useful, why did I want to know that?, disturbing content and to be dismissed as soon as possible. But then she had others under the category interesting. Breaking it down further there was passing notice, note to consider matter when bored, notice to investigate further at soonest available free moment and pressing analysis needed. She had taught herself to classify everything by these standards and more, and held herself to the highest standard she could, the SeeD manual. So there was nothing that occurred within her short term memory that went without further thought. And thus she spent a lot of time off in her own world thinking.

But her long term memory…well, there wasn't anything worth thinking about before she entered Trabia Garden at ten years old.

She also, as an instinct honed finely into her, distrusted all new people. There were only three things she trusted; her SeeD manual, her dog Sebastian (or Bast as he was well known as) and her friends. Everything and everyone else she would hold aloof of until she had no reason to be suspicious of them. Out of all of her closest friends, she trusted more than anything her hidden boyfriend, who went by the name Kayden Trepe. He especially stressed his last name, in Galbadia, as it was well known that Kayden's true last name would bring out the furthest resentment in everyone; Almasy.

They were so much alike, that their natures sometimes grated and clashed in titanic arguments or duels with their chosen weapons, magic or sometimes just words. She could never let him have the last word; it was…wrong, she decided. And because they had such a complex relationship they strove to out do each other in everything, from stocked magic, to training, to knowledge of SeeD and its practices, to useful survival knowledge and much more. They were rivals, but also lovers. They battled, but then they laughed it off.

'But it's his fault that the faculty thinks I'm a problem child…him and his stupid pranks and actions…But I can't just walk away.'

They were training partners too. Kayden, because he thought the Hyperion Gunblade was the coolest weapon and he would cut an imposing figure, wielding it against foes when he became a SeeD. And she had just been drawn to the Gunblade, could not explain the feeling of rightness she had in holding one, the feeling of familiarity. And so they trained daily, each trying to out maneuver the other…until one or both would fall with exhaustion.

It had been a grueling session; classes in monster defense and offense, and magic wielding in the morning…a lunch break where both would finish as quickly as possible and then would be off to the training center for three hours of depleting the monster stock. Then there would be three more hours of class…the homework and readings that followed, dinner. And off to the training center once more or a dueling arena for a mock duel.

They would return to their rooms only when forced to by curfew. However, Kayden had always found a way around it. The rule stated all Cadets must be in their rooms before 2300 hours for lights out until 0600 hours. The key word was 'be'. 'Be' did not mean stay apparently, as long as they were in their rooms at some point during that assigned time of lights out it was fine. So Kayden did not stay…and challenged her to do the same. And she did, following him out to some pretty shady places.

But there were good points to her wanderings with Kay. She had an impressive selection of drawn magic in her stock, more so then a normal cadet, and more conflict training then most do too. Before the SeeD exam, she had already stocked the majority of second and some third level spells that could be found in Galbadia Garden area, and some fairly far off when she had borrowed a car from a friend to range further in the plains. She already had Cura, Fira, Thundara, Water, Blizzara, Shell, Protect, Sleep, Berserk, Zombie, Float, Aero, Silence, Break, Scan, Confuse, Blind, Drain, Slow, Tornado, Esuna and Haste. And because Kayden was with her during these ventures he had the same spells she held in stock.

Both were extremely careful not to use their odder spells in front of Instructors or faculty heads in case the said person tried to follow up with a reasonable explanation. If it got out that two cadets had these spells and no reasonable explanation followed on how they managed to come across them; especially if they were so far out of the range that even during the day the Cadets were unable to venture too, the Headmaster could use that as an excuse to involve the other Gardens to find the answer, and bring the attention to Commander Leonhart…who she heard did not go easy on those that deliberately broke the rules.

Also, they had ventured to card huts to play with the best from their Garden as well as surrounding area's in mini tournaments of Triple Triad. Both she and Kayden were now considered up and coming duelist champions, not to mention they both have amassed an impressive deck.

It helped her confidence to know that the majority of the monsters that were on the plains surrounding Galbadia Garden she could hold off and defeat single handedly. That did not include all monsters though, both she and Kayden were quite careful not to wander too far away from the plains or near any forests…there was a slim chance that their presence may be noted by a feared Wendigo or worse, an Ochu.

Not that an encounter with the aforementioned Ochu had changed their minds drastically on heading out of Garden after curfew. During one wandering last year, she had saved her companion's life by slicing down on the hulking mutated plants' massive head and right through to its unprotected cranium and calmly pulling the trigger; casting well aimed bullets into its brain. The pale creature, with its dark green skin shadowed in the path of the almost nonexistent moon, toppled quickly, faster then she had thought it would, and she ended up being thrown back first onto a nearby tree branch.

She had come to quickly, shaking off both the shock of the throw and the pain of the unexpected encounter with the tree, to see Kayden quickly slice the neck of the creature and thus making sure it was 'gonna stay down.'

She had argued that she had most likely hit its central nervous system when she sliced the creature through the monstrous head and hit its cerebral cortex with the powerful firing of the Gun section of her Blade and it would have lost the ability to stand and counter within moments of the attack. This was all done nonchalantly while she intently studied the lines of her own Gunblade looking for hidden damages as well as cleaning the 'goo' off of it.

They both limped back to Garden, after a quick bath in a lake to rid themselves of the distinctive smell of Ochu blood and an even quicker fire spell to dry themselves with. They had just returned to Garden, and had just slipped in their rooms when the obscuring darkness had vanished under the coming of the sun for another day.

Neither had given a particularly believable account of what had occurred that night, but gave the same story every time they were asked to explain the mysterious bruises on her back and left side ribs or the scratch that donned Kayden's Gunblade for weeks afterwards. And because they gave no more information other than a training mishap, it was soon dismissed by the instructors at Galbadia Garden as just that. She was fairly sure they all knew she and Kay were traveling outside Garden after curfew, but they did not bring it up in conversation. She and Kayden just referred to it as 'the incident' when it came up in an argument, to keep the others in the dark, to their nighttime wanderings.

But on their next excursion outside, both had avoided the now ominous forest without either actually saying anything to that fact.

The only time that they were caught by an instructor, for some reason the punishment had been so light that it was not a punishment at all. They had been 'ordered' by the Galbadian Commander of Garden, Charles Verauan, to train for five hours in the training center. A common occurrence for them anyways and nothing out of schedule either.

At some point, she had been told she had fallen into favour with the Commander at Galbadia Garden, and he now seemed to interfere when the Instructors or Martine tried to discipline her. And until someone gave her a good enough reason to stop, she saw no real harm in their wanderings, as long as they were careful.

She recognized a good situation when she saw it, and did nothing too drastic to curb any major attention from those that could go above her Commander to issue a more lasting and severe punishment. And the only person that had more authority in Galbadia Garden then its own Commander, was Squall Leonhart. But since she and Kayden did so many things that slid under the radar, they were frequently left alone and, for the most part, unchecked. And as she had heard from her friends, if she and Kay had grown up in Balamb, it was likely they would be disciplined severely for their transgressions.

Kay, for the most part, was completely unconcerned with that idea, but had agreed not to flaunt their supposed favouritism around, unless it did gain the attention of others who would be able to rectify the situation.

Besides, she mused, it was unlikely that her own Headmaster would ever need to involve another Commander in an issue concerning a SeeD cadet. Even if he thought their own Commander would let someone get away with anything, while others were punished harshly. She supposed she rebelled as his rules were unfair to others and because he had picked favorites; she had little to no regard for him.

It had concerned her, though, that Verauan would be weak enough to show favouritism to specific students, SeeDs or Instructors though. For, if a trivial fact like the cunning of method of escape and their blatant disregard for what the rule should have been read as, was viewed as being amusing by the man they were supposed to respect; then it would be just as easy to fall out of favour.

And because of his favouritism, he had suppressed any attempt for that tricky 'be' to be replaced with a more sure word or phrase like 'stay' or 'remain and not leave.' Of course this was relatively easy to do, as all he had to do was assure Commander Leonhart of the original Garden that there had been no recorded misunderstandings on that word.

Kay and herself were not mentioned because, according to the 'Galbadian Commander', none had been found outside of their rooms after curfew; unless by accident and usually they had just realized the time and were extremely apologetic (she had a feeling that Verauan had classified her and Kay under that heading. It was odd though because when they had been found neither had been particularly apologetic in any way). It was not right to punish those who made a simple mistake; just as long as it was not repeated (they had not been found again; so in his mind the incident had not reoccurred).

Thus the painful and expensive task of recalling all SeeD manuals from everyone that had a copy at G-Garden and printing new ones was not necessary. That was the last attempt she had heard Martine had made to fix the situation, probably frustrated by how quickly Verauan had suppressed his idea.

And the only reason she and Kay did not make the situation worse for the nearly retired Headmaster, was because they both respected the man. His rules were fair to all and favoured none, and he attempted to run the Garden the way it was supposed to be. For her, she believed that nothing should ever come easily to some and not to others, and thus felt little to no respect for the man that commanded the SeeDs within the largest Garden. But when asked by Martine for a reprieve from their 'activities' they both immediately obeyed, for awhile.

Verauan was not neutral, and would pick and choose his favourites with freedom of one who knew he would get away with it. She was one of the ones that was picked, but really did not wish to be. No matter what she seemed to do, he always interfered on her behalf.

'His constant interference attracts attention to me. I'm not that different from the other students! I should not be a favourite just because I'm proficient in the Gunblade, as well as other forms of defence with swords, daggers, or guns. But he gloats that he has two students who are up and coming Gunblade legends! As if that's the only fact that matters to him that we've happened to pick the same weapon as the Commander at Balamb Garden! It's a Gunblade…so what? I don't want that attention! I wish Bast…no… can't use his power too often…'

'_Hush Child.'_ The gentle voice whispered to her. _'It is of no matter. You are aware of your own accomplishments, and if someone only wishes to admit one then he is not worthy of your respect.'_

'_I just feel like I've been favoured for the wrong reasons. He expects great things from me just because I use a Gunblade…and he anticipates that I am to respect him…he's blind to all the other students and their own strengths. He focuses only on some…'_

'_Then he is not worthy of others respect…'_

'_He should be fired!'_

'_Hush…Do not let the situation worry you, there are people like that in this world…'_

That seemed to end that conversation, as she abstractedly petted her silky dog's head as he lay next to her, seemingly picking up on her distress and moving to comfort her. He had always comforted her, since before she could remember. Bast's dark brown liquid eyes met hers and a wave of calmness echoed from them into her. With his dark fur, he was nearly lost in the darkness of the room; when he was on the floor it was near impossible to see where dog began and the darkness ended. The only relief to his dark colouring was a tiny amount of brown on his face, surrounding his eyes like a mask, and donning the tip of his long and frequently wagging tail. He had been her companion since 'before' and would always be there.

He was not an ordinary dog. Something far more powerful, and ancient, laid only resting in a bound form. And for some reason, he had chosen her as his person, and she could not express how grateful she was for that company, on the darkest of nights and during the darkest of her days. She suspected he was an ancient and, until recently, lost Guardian Force, but did not know why he had picked her. His response was that she drew him to her, and he chose a form that would not scare her as a small child; the form of a mid sized very cute dog. And as far as she could remember he had not even given her his true name…but allowed her to call him 'Sebastian' and answered to affections such as 'Bast' or 'Bastian.'

Bast managed to convince everyone else that he was always a two year old, incredibly well trained, dark collie. But in truth, he was far older, older than the ten years she could recall him being with her…since before the pain. And he helped her live through it.

Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts that plagued her for years, she continued with gently stroking both her precious friend as well as trying to read her mantra for survival. 'I am on my way to becoming a SeeD…I will not be bound by my past nor will it affect my future…I will make it on my own…I--will be a SeeD, and I will be a good one.'

She had survived the SeeD written exam, almost studying day and night for weeks, never taking a break for longer than four hours at a time…and that was only to sleep. She thought over the material in class, running it through over and over until she could repeat everything without hesitation or uncertainty. Staying up later than lights out, studying, avoiding Kay during this time so that he could not get her to sneak out with him and lose that time too. She kept on reading, and had not slept the night before the test. And she was successful. Her short term memory overwhelmed with information that her answers were incredibly detailed and precise. She had tied Kay for the highest mark…a feat seeing as his mother was the legendary genius SeeD, Quistis Trepe.

And so that night, after sleeping for several hours, she had agreed to celebrate with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, his version of celebration involved, once more, scaling down the Garden walls. Over the three years she had known him, they had gotten quite proficient at it. He would usually scale quickly down using a jump wire, and then disassemble it at the bottom. Her method was more direct and more dangerous, magic. Thus she always had float and aero spells stocked fully.

It had been a hard test; she had seen others agonizing over answers, hesitating and second guessing themselves. SeeDs were normally in situations where they could not second guess, and could not erase the answer and try again…as they could on paper. They had to be calm, rational and not prone to excessive amounts of emotion and they needed to have the answers. And it was calming to her when she had the answers laid out in front of her. 'I won't always have that though…I must be ready to act on my own initiative based on my knowledge of SeeD practices and the current situation. I won't have time to second guess… I don't think I'm ready for this…'

In the end, it had been Kayden that had forced her to move ahead. He had simply stated that he intended this to be the year he was going to become a SeeD. She had not responded to that, but had responded in a manner he probably had predicted she would when he stated he did not think she could keep up and was still a little girl. That started off another verbal spat between the two. But when all was said and done she applied to the programs that were necessary to allow her to be considered ready to attempt the difficult SeeD exam.

And where most failed the test, a few made it through to the first part of the SeeD practical exam. And even fewer of the graduating year made it past that challenge.

They had been led, in a group to a tomb. It was formally known as the 'Tomb of the Unknown King', centered on the peninsula tip that curved upwards forming one half of a circle above Deling city. Upon getting there and setting up camp, all the Cadets eligible for the challenge were outfitted with a location device. Probably, she had assumed, in case they became lost in the structure ahead and could not find their way out. She remembered promising herself she would not be one of those.

When they were told that this was their second exam she read up as far as she could on the maze like structure, looking for any hint on what to expect. As far as she could determine, the idea was like a large circle, follow one path never veering from that and you would find a way through. She had memorized the maze…or at least the landmarks in the maze. In the very center sat the tomb of the man no one remembered. Directly above that point following a straight line was a flood gate control.

According to her gained knowledge, both switches were listed as being what they were. To the left (if it could have been considered left) was the drawbridge control. And to the right of the flood gate controls sat an empty room that had been rumored to be the deserted living place of a Guardian Force. She knew that within the maze she would have to rotate the map suitable to her location.

She had also read up and memorized all the creatures that were rumored to dwell in that place; for example the most common were Blobra, Buels', Bombs and Armadodo. Those were the four she was expected to be able to handle, with help of course. If something more challenging like a Forbidden came up, the instructor would step in and she would be the support instead. She had learned that Forbiddens' normally did not appear in the catacomb but had on occasion been found inside. And to deal with those creatures she had memorized their stats, their individual strengths and weakness to magic and items as well as their relative strength and what magic could be drawn from each. And to be on the safe side, she also memorized the information of the monsters that dwelled on the outside of the tomb as well. Kaidia Dos-Santos always tried to be prepared.

She had been taken by car to the misty tomb of someone that passed to death so long ago that only his tomb was known about. He had been forgotten by all, no one even knew his name. It was sad that the only thing mentionable about this lost one was the location of his body. She did not want to be forgotten like that, where all traces of your existence vanished from memory and all that was left of you was an empty body left to decay in some grave. And a few centuries after your death, that would vanish too.

'I do not want the attention…but I don't want to vanish? Does that make sense?'

The second part of the exam had been interesting, from her perspective. Kaidia sighed; it had been more like an earth bound nightmare. The student had been blindfolded and lead into the maze, following some indeterminate route until all semblance of direction was lost. The instructor was not allowed to speak to the student, only to give advice on the enemies that sauntered around the dim decayed building and that was only if the student asked, and then said student was told to find the exit.

Kaidia had started thinking right away. Taking a piece of chalk, she nicked the wall they were standing at with an arrow, pointing in the direction she had gone when she started in, given the slim chance that her idea would not work. She had guessed that they would be asked to find something, starting at the entrance; not to have to find their way out. She had been in a corridor with a possible four exits, one behind her, two to either side and one ahead.

It really didn't matter where she was in the maze she had realized quickly, all she needed to do was find a side wall, or the center section where the casket sat in desolation. Because if she found the center then the answer was to head straight down from there, and that would answer the question of where the exit was. For heading straight down would either lead to the drawbridge or the exit of the maze, and either way she was assured of her location.

Of course, nothing usually went well for her on a good day, and this certainly wasn't a good day. She had not walked straight into the center square. Instead, her picked direction had lead on into the maze. She had picked to head right of her current direction and would continue heading straight on that path with her quiet instructor in tow, despite the opens of new paths. It was dizzying in there, nothing ever changed about the appearance of the walls she was following, and she was almost sure this had been some obscure joke. The tomb itself was small, but because nothing ever changed about its cool confines, it could cause some to lose their heads and panic. And the monsters that inhabited the prison only added to the possible panic.

The only noted advantage was that she was able to successfully draw the magic spells Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Quake and by an odd chance Meltdown from one of the sleeping bombs that attacked them. It was possible that she attracted the stronger monsters after so easily defeating the first wave.

She and her instructor had traveled through two more rooms where there had been three choices of where to go. She had, despite the original direction of right, had kept walking straight on the path and had finally seen the outer wall. She knew this because there was no 'straight' in this case. And once again, to not confuse herself she headed right. Knowing that once she had hit the wall, she only had to find an identifying location, like the empty area where the GF had been, or the floodgate or drawbridge controls to figure out the path that would lead them out with the minimal amount of time. She knew that each of those areas would break into the wall of the cave, and thus she would still be following the dungeon walls and would nearly stumble onto a locater. To her relief they found one left line after only venturing one chamber. She entered it and found the empty nest of a long forgotten GF…and quickly left once more.

With the silent tail she had followed, she watched her every move carefully. Knowing the basic layout served her here. She had to assume that left of where she had originally met the wall was the floodgate control. As the dungeon wall followed headed left into the GF's pit, she must have come from the spot above that location, and conveniently, much to her surprise, was already heading in the right direction to the exit. And so she continued walking, without hesitation, left from the spot where the GF had sat so long ago, knowing that it would be the opposite too her memorized map now. And then it was just a question of following the wall of the maze and never deviating from heading left whenever a choice presented itself, she used the wall as her guide to exit the complex and once she hit a section that had three more directions than the one she came in, left, would be the exit.

And so, without uttering a single word at any time to her instructor, she passed the second requirement to the SeeD exam. Apparently with one of the best times too, out of the small group of sixteen that passed. About twenty had failed already by the time she was left to entertain herself with paranoid images of rockslides and monsters that should not be found in this cavern attacking. Her paranoia became ridiculous when she found herself mentally pondering the notion on whether it was possible that a mutated form of mini Ruby Dragons existed only in here. She had tried very hard to turn her thoughts off after that initial discovery of the direction of her thought. And soon both herself and her instructor had found themselves outside, blinking in the mid day sun. She had only been in there for around an hour it seemed, but it felt as though it had been longer.

Only after exiting was she questioned extensively by said instructor and the other higher ups in Galbadian Garden, wishing to know her strategy for finding the exit. There were situations where she would have to trust herself to find the way out by logic, not rely on chance or the sensitive nose of her 'dog', and indeed she had passed that test.

Now lay the third and most daunting challenge…the actual SeeD exam. She did not know what lay ahead, so she studied for every form of challenge she could think of. And finally, after hours of pouring over books of monster, weapons and magic theory, as well as her detailed notes and the SeeD manual she now held, she felt as ready as what she could be…which, this time, was not reassuring. But it was here, the night before, and all she could do was stare without recording anything from her book and pat her dog. She had never felt so unsure of herself in her entire life, well as much of it as she wanted to remember or could remember. Until this point, she had been confident enough, but now she felt like a real little girl, afraid of the future and of the dark.

When she had started this a year ago, accepting Kay's challenge, she had never dreamed it would be so difficult…but it was SeeD and she should have known that only the best pass. 'But am I good enough? Am I really ready for this? Before this every day seemed assured, scheduled, in what I could expect; classes, training, lunch, training, classes, homework, dinner training, bed, training…and then attempting to sleep. But now…it's like standing in a doorway, the room behind me I know, but what's ahead is hidden in shadows. Thinking is not doing me any good…again. Kay says I think too much and I'm beginning to agree with him.'

'_He is not the only one that shares that sentiment, Child.'_

Ah yes, Bast, or whoever Bast really was, had expressed such when her thoughts overflowed as they were now.

'_Remember, love, I will be there…'_

'_I just feel like something's going to change…'_

'_Something will change…you are stepping into your future.'_

'_No…its not becoming a SeeD…I feel like something's going to happen…something horrible…'_

'_You have faced so much, and I'm sure whatever happens in the next day you will find the courage to face as well…as well as the strength to keep going. The one you name Verauan believes you will succeed because he wishes it…I know you will succeed because YOU wish it and you have the dedication to make it so. Rest, little one, you are tired.'_

'_I…I'm scared…of this feeling.'_

'_There is no reason to fear feelings, only to accept them and be able to move with them…What happens will happen…there is no avoiding these things. And worrying about them will not ease your mind. Instead it will further your panic and leave you stressed. You will not be at your best if you do not rest…Come…Let me help…'_

He was referring to one of his odd powers. Where he would calm her with his own peace and love, and allow her to sleep when she could not find the strength to sleep herself. He would lie next to her, and she would curl up with her body around his, like a stuffed animal, and listen to his soft heart beat while his words, a lulling song, echoed in her mind. And when she was relaxed enough she would slip away to sleep. She fell into this position without thought.

'_I love you, Bast…'_

'_And I love you, more then you can ever imagine…Now sleep, little one…let lie your concerns…I am here and I will always be with you…no matter what the future holds.'_

* * *

Well there it is…Tell me what you think.

Ja'ne

Avion Jade


	2. Chapter 2

There was that noise again, the blaring continuing noise that would not stop no matter how she wished it to. And when her mind connected with the fact that the noise would continue on incessantly until she rose from her bed and turned the contraption off herself. Kaidia made a mental promise to figure out who had come up with the idea of alarm clocks and write a letter of protest. But that was a stupid thought, her mind argued. Whoever created alarm clocks was long safe in a realm where moody teenagers and adults could not reach, until death.

Untangling her body from her stirring pet, she rose to turn the noise off. The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon, leaving just visible streaks of darkness left. The dark was slowly being pushed away by the soft golden and almost hazel purple of the waking sun. Taking a brush from her dresser, she abstractedly ran it through her mid back length tresses of mused hair, humming the song that Bast had sung to her late in the night when she could not rest. When that was done, she fixed Bast his breakfast, kibble and a condiment on top.

She looked around her small dorm, listening intently to the sounds of her friend, Ronna Dincht waking up from her own dreams and saying loudly enough for her to hear, about something being very wrong with people who are chronically early for everything. She still had around two hours before she was to meet at the front gate of Galbadia Garden.

As Bast ate his breakfast, she got dressed. Finding her formal SeeD Cadet uniform and donning it quickly as her skin prickled in the unprotected air. All the SeeD cadets were expected to wear their uniforms during this mission and they would be docked points for showing up in casual clothes.

Glancing in the mirror, she observed the results. A black sweater top with two stripes of gold around the collar with one separating the neck from the other section of the top which ended in a gold plume like tie that hung down the front of the outfit. At the shoulders was a decorative pattern of gold that wove over the black and a second string of gold encircled the wrists and the waist of the uniform. A black skirt that flared out slightly from her waist and ended at her knees, with one stripe of fine gold woven at the very front of the skirt, following the line of the bow finished the required part uniform. Adding to this she pulled on calf socks which were quickly covered with black hiking boots. Some of the more fashion conscious girls of her age, had commentated that boots with a skirt was blasphemy, but to her it was practical, boots offered more protection then shoes as they were thicker and harder to break. Not that Kaidia really cared what the others thought of her and her choices.

She organized her collection of back up weapons she would need for this venture. It occurred to her that as she looked at her five sets of daggers, she was keeping herself as calm as possible by following her morning routine down to a tee; as if this was just going to be another day of training and classes for her, and nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Sighing now, she realized she had just come too far to back down now and, despite the feeling that her life was about to take a drastic and unforeseen change, she could not abandon this attempt. It was an odd feeling, as if a part of her knew something other than the SeeD exam was going to happen that day, and that quiet and calm section of her mind was cautioning the more nervous section to prepare for the challenge. But, there was no backing down now. It wasn't just so that Kayden wouldn't rub it in her face that she got scared because it seemed to her that this was right. It seemed to her that she was supposed to be here, in this moment, preparing for a day that would change her life. Like there was a hidden secret, about to be revealed, and this was only the beginning.

Kaidia took a dagger holder and strapped it to her upper leg, hidden under her skirt in case she had to dive and defend herself at the same moment. Two sharp daggers sat there. Another two sat at her waist, in hidden compartments and one up either sleeve. Two circular collapsible shuriken were hidden in the inside of her sweater top, buried in a hidden compartment she designed. As far as she knew, she was one of the only cadets to have circular throwing discs, and had thus been identified and teased as being over paranoid.

She knew the dangers of being a SeeD, (expect the unexpected) and had been impressed that a SeeD should never be without a weapon at any time or trust a seemingly secure situation to fate or luck. So she had about twenty daggers and other weapons stashed in hidden locations in her room and out in the main section she shared with Ronna. If another attack on Garden would occur, she would not be one to go down without a fight.

And now the primary weapon…her Gunblade, never given a proper name, she cleaned the blade and trigger until it shone and made completely sure she had enough ammunition with her for whatever could occur, and then strapped the blade to her back and left her room with her dog following her. Of course she needed her leather gloves. No one could handle a Gunblade without wearing protection on their hands. They needed to keep a steady grip on the powerful, mysterious weapon, and if their grip was nervous, it would lax due to sweat. The gloves made sure that even if the user was nervous, hot or cold there would be no difference to how they handled their weapon. And because of that, she learned to handle all weapons with the thick gloves. As she walked, she pulled them on.

It was now one quarter to 0700 hours.

Following her morning routine, she ended up in the cafeteria, after taking a quick and wakeful run through the dark red halls of her only home. She was not surprised to see Kayden there, waiting for her at the door. His expression was calm, but there were emotions that surged beneath his soft hazel eyes, the same emotions she was feeling. Kaidia was sure that all the sixteen cadets about to place their trust in their skills were as nervous as herself and Kayden. Catching his left hand with her right, she gently squeezed as he repeated the gesture. They hugged briefly, and his lips lingered over her cheek. They might be rivals but something deeper existed between the two of them. It was a hard relationship to figure out…and many just ended up shaking their heads at the two of them and walking away.

Most people got stuck on the fact they seemed to always be fighting. But if they listened to the inner context of their heated words or sword play, they would see the passion they held for each other. They fought because it was their life, their pride, and their way of relating to each other. It was all they knew…and when one came back injured by the other, there were no hard feelings. It was simply a new lesson learned about how to defend themselves so that when finally presented with an enemy that was truly out for their blood they would be prepared for anything.

They saw the competitiveness of their relationship and their willingness to follow the other into trouble, either caused by themselves or by those around them, and nothing else.

When they had first met, they had disliked each other by first glance. Kayden had said something about girls not supposed to be training with Gunblades, and she had said back that he should stop hiding in the shadow of his Father. It was a week before either were considered fit enough to leave the infirmary due to the numerous injuries they had sustained, and because there was no one else to talk to, they ended up talking to each other, and learning about each other.

She had expected him to just walk away, after their sentence with the hovering physician was over. But he, the next day, had called her over to the table he was sitting at and introduced her as an up and coming Gunblade Master who had just transferred from Trabia Garden; one that was nearly as good as himself. It was another four days, this time, before they escaped the infirmary.

The Commander had been delighted to accept her as a student, she had heard. That he had no qualms of adding a second Gunblade specialist to his ranks of cadets. That it would be a wonderful idea if the two could use each others skill to further their own. And had thus, in this generation, become the only Garden to have Gunblade trainees.

The weapon was an old one, being replaced by Guns and other more accurate and futuristic forms of weaponry and maybe it gave Verauan some form of pleasure to know he could soon be commanding the only two Gunblade specialists in this time frame.

And with Kayden leading the charge with his four friends in tow, had practically claimed her as their sixth and final companion of their peculiar little group. She had heard that the other students avoided these ones, mainly because of who their parents happened to be and it seemed to have surprised them that Kaidia had accepted them on their own, without considering their last names as important

She had known the effects of being ostracized by others, being the quiet child in Trabia and the only Gunblade trainee. So when others accepted her odd reason for wanting a Gunblade she accepted them as people, not shadows of their parents. And through their own determination, they had managed to break down her walls and all became friends. Only them though, all others she distrusted still, and would not accept their help as genuine.

It was only a short time after that, where Kayden, after failing to rouse Bre, Toby, Ronna or Ryu's interest in sneaking out of Garden at night, had turned on her. After picking at her for a few minutes, explaining the misreading of the word, and calling her a scared little girl, she had agreed. And in thinking further about it, she had come to the realization that he was correct on the word 'be' and how it could be misinterpreted.

Only six months after she had transferred, she was already breaking the rules, and because of this absconding from their Garden together as well as classes and training; they had spent so much time with each other that it was not surprising that they just drifted, seemingly, into a relationship.

He had kissed her one day under the shadowing lights of the dimmed training room. After apologizing profusely for punching him out when he woke up in the infirmary, she kissed him back.

And now they were there, walking into the feeding room. To her surprise, their table was already occupied with their friends; all mulling quietly to themselves over the upcoming days' events. It seemed that once she and Kayden had decided to take a gamble with the SeeD exam, the rest of their friends followed too, and all in her group, including herself, had passed the first and second requirement. She had been a little surprised that Ryu had made it this far, for he was known to panic sometimes in situations.

But, she mused maybe he had learned to control that. She may be the youngest from the group, but with their antics, she sometimes felt like the eldest. She would only show a softer side to her friends, and the rest saw what she wanted them to. The lone wolf SeeD cadet, training with a Gunblade, cool, calm, professional and ready for everything. Only she did not feel ready for ANYTHING let alone everything.

She really only picked at her breakfast, forcing herself to swallow the now tasteless food and choke down the coffee, by force. She knew that she would be watched that day, and any form of weakness would be noted. She had to be alert and prepared to face any challenge, no matter how great or small. But, at that moment, Kaidia felt it would be for the greater good if she was facing a toilet. After eating, everyone gathered themselves together and practically marched in twos to the exit of the cafeteria.

As she walked, she began to assemble her mask. One where only calm and neutral emotions showed through and nothing seemed to ruffle her calm. One where it gave the impression she was ready for this challenge, no matter what she felt on the inside, and would walk into a battle bravely. One where she, alone, would know that she was afraid.

SeeDs could not show fear, in case it unsettled their clients. They would be judged on knowledge of SeeD practices, the correct use of their weapons in an efficient manner, their ability to work alone as well as in a team effort, their acceptance of their squad leader's orders as well as their ability to keep calm in a dangerous situation. There was more that she knew of, but those were what really mattered. As far as Kaidia could determine, she was entering this last part of the SeeD exam with high credentials.

So without even knowing that they had arrived, they all reached their destination. Standing in wait were several Instructors, other heads of faculty, their Commander and finally their elderly Headmaster. She was aware of automatically slipping into the SeeD salute just as her friends did so. Bast seemed to salute as well, sitting next to her left leg and proudly puffing out his chest.

The Headmaster nodded at the group and they all dropped the salute, but still stood at attention. Behind the last of her friends, ten more drifted up slowly and saluted.

"Well." Martine's once strong voice nearly whispered. "Let's divide the candidates into their squads. An instructor will come to your side and will give you your squad letter. These have been predetermined, based on your results during the last two SeeD exams, they cannot be negotiated, is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they chorused together, immediately.

There was silence for a few minutes. Instructor Bane walked round to her side then, and then to her front. She did not react to his steady gaze, locking on to her own.

"Ready, cadet?"

"Sir, as ready as I can be for this, Sir."

"Nervous?" he questioned softly.

"I'm trying not to be, sir." She softened her voice here, trying not to be overheard by the others.

"That's good that you are nervous cadet. It shows that, while you are aware enough of the situation and its dangers, you are not giving way to your emotions. You will be fine."

"Thank you, sir."

"You're in Squad A. Joining you will be Suzu Higa as Squad leader, Kayden Trepe and Ryu Dincht."

'They've put me with two people I know. This must be a test to see if I can put aside personal feelings with them and work to a goal. They'll be looking to see who I respond to. I can't let personal feelings interfere with the mission. I'm not sure if Kayden and I should be on the same Squad, though. We use the same weapon and would be better served if we were separate. I can't argue though, they know what they're doing.'

"Yes sir." She acknowledged her Instructor and went to flank the one he stated as her leader.

She remembered this boy. He was a brilliant fighter, weaving in and out of the training center, carrying an elongated full metal shuriken that curved dangerously into points away from the base. There were two hand holds on it, and both would be used for countering, but only one for attacking. He would throw the weapon at the enemy and then retrieve it when a moment arrived. He had to be assigned in at least a pair, for his weapon was more of a burden if he was alone as he could not just run up to the enemy and extract it without expecting a counter attack. It would be up to his team to keep the enemy's attention so he could retrieve the weapon. The negative was over balanced by the positive though. For this weapon was one that was known for one hit kills or near to that point, if the person using it was strong enough.

He was the reason why she and Kayden were in one group, he would require their joined cover to get close enough to their attacker, whether it be a monster or another enemy, and retrieve the silver shuriken. The general idea of his weapon, he had informed her, during one point where they had run into each other in the training room, was that to kill in one hit. He had continued to explain it, despite her already knowing the gist of it from her own studies.

SeeDs had to be able to use a variety of weapons, not just their primary or their backups. She herself was familiar with basic martial arts and could adjust to fighting with just a sword or a gun. It had been good that she had become friends with these people, as they were quite willing to show her a few things about their own talents, as long as she returned the favour.

"Well…" Martine started again.

In the past she had been told his voice had enough power and authority to rouse an army, as well as enough strength to guide those before her to complete their individual missions on their way to become either a SeeD or a better SeeD. He had been their heart, and had always made time to speak with the students on their concerns and offered advice freely no matter who asked.

She herself had gone to him, with concerns over the Commander's seemingly favour on her and how he seemed to disregard others too. He had told her the truth in that situation. That until an incident came up where there was a question that could prove Verauans' favouritism of some students to the Commander of Balamb Garden, there was little he could do about it. Of course he probably did not mean for Kaidia and Kayden to try to create a situation by them sneaking out of Garden alone. Her other intention when agreeing originally was the hope that they would be caught enough times and something done to rectify the problem of the word 'be'.

She then had the hope that Commander Leonhart would start asking questions about why they continued to get away with breaking those rules too, and thus remove Verauan from his position. Unfortunately it became obvious that the Commander's influence stretched so far that it was not reported to anyone if they were ever spotted. In the end it became fun, a challenge, so neither quit, and it became a habit. Besides, it taught her more about the creatures she was expected to be able to deal with than a class ever could. Not that she condoned their activities, but now it was just something to do, when bored.

Somehow, both would feel incomplete if they could not abscond from Garden at least once a week, and would feel less complete if one, or both, did not end up in the infirmary at least once every two weeks.

It was that fairness that Headmaster Martine showed, that Kaidia and Kayden respected. But behind their doddering headmaster stood the smirking and proud form of the Commander of Galbadia SeeDs, Charles Verauan.

Their eyes met, his cool brown eyes directly into her even gray ones, he smiled, as if it had been his own power that had gotten her to that point. As if he had something to do with her direct skill in controlling a Gunblade and Magic. 'As if he has something to be proud of!' she thought indignantly.

'_Hush, Child.'_

He frowned slightly as she kept his gaze locked evenly with his, seeing if he would challenge her here. But he smiled again, as if pleased with her nerve and before she could be called up on manners, she politely inclined her head to him. But there was nothing submissive in that, she did it only to keep face.

A moment later, she moved her attention off their Commander and roved her gaze quickly around, checking to see who had answered this call. Who, out of those she knew had made it this far and who would walk away after leaving their friends. She recognized some of the cadets behind her, on sight only. If their names had been told to her she had forgotten long ago. There to her left stood the man known by his students as Instructor Bane, talking quietly with a few others that were dressed as Instructors.

The SeeDs attending this mission were already debriefed and were on their way to the conflict. The cadets where to be deployed after their arrival wherever the SeeD exam was being held. She turned her attention back to the old man that had swayed more respect from her then the Commander ever could.

"It's been a long time coming and you've finally made it to this stage, on your own. You are now responsible for your care, your health and the health of your team. You are the latest and the most advanced cadets of the graduating year, and all of you show much promise with your weapons training and your dedication to SeeD. I would have you know that not all of you will pass this test. Do not view that as the end, but rather a learning experience so that you will be better prepared to try again. SeeD represents second chances and change to those within its program…" he coughed here, and cleared his voice.

"SeeD represents hope and peace to those that need an idealistic image to live in this world. We protect those that call it from us, as they would have it. And those that stand here today stand here because they have succeeded in the first tests to become a full fledged SeeD. As far as there will be wars to be fought and peace to be upheld, SeeD will exist. Today, all of you are embarking on a quest to see if you are ready to become a SeeD. You will be viewed during your exam, so that we can see you in real life action and determine if you are ready for the next challenge. This is no longer a class, where the answers are written down in stone. You must be able to judge for yourselves the situation and know the proper answer. All of your previous training has been for this moment. You all are representatives of Galbadia Garden! Make all of us proud!"

And with that last statement, the long time head of Galbadia Garden slowly walked away from them. She stared after his bowed back in consternation. 'That was supposed to be reassuring! Make us proud! How about we're scared to death and you want us to make you proud!' She thought sarcastically to herself.

Kaidia was aware that Suzu had turned and was walking calmly towards the exit. She followed in his wake, aware now that she was the only female from this Squad and would thus have to prove herself even more then before. Suzu seemed to be following Instructor Bane as he led them straight out the entrance of Garden. Bast turned from the group and from the corner of her eye, he began the trek back towards her dorm.

'_Good luck, child._' He spoke to her mentally. '_In whatever may happen.'_

She was glad for the silence as it gave her a moment to sort out her emotions and thoughts, into a less confusing bundle. This was it.

She was still trying to wrap her head around the single idea that this was what her whole year had been leading up to. That everything she had worked so hard for was about to begin. There was no looking back now, Kaidia decided, and no matter what occurred after or during the SeeD exam she would handle it as best she could as a representative of SeeD. And for the event that she was mostly sure would occur within the exam itself, she would just have to handle it when it came.

The day was here, and she now found herself following her squad leader's direction automatically without any thought. 'How stressful for him to be the leader. It must be a bittersweet moment. He has more stress on him then we ourselves do as his Squad. I would hate to be pushed into being a leader like that, all the worry of keeping your team safe. I would be wondering constantly if I was making the correct decision, and second guessing myself. But leaders can't do that, not with their team knowing, or it will cause them to panic. I hope I'm never called on to be a leader any time soon. It's a big adjustment just being a SeeD…'

'_Those that are meant to lead will take charge naturally…for the good of the team…' _Bast calmly spoke to her from within her mind.

'_What does that mean?!'_

'_Just that you would make a good leader.'_

'_No…Don't even suggest that. I don't think I could handle it…'_

'_Nonetheless, Child… Are you ready?'_

She sighed deeply thinking about her choice. To her it seemed that Bast was asking for something more than a commitment to the SeeD exam. But he was right too, whatever happened, happened and it would do no good to fight against it. And he was with her in spirit, as he would always be. Kay's reassuring presence gave her the drive she needed to succeed as well.

'_Yes…For whatever happens…yes…I'm ready.'_

'_And so it will begin.'_

They walked quickly, but in control up to a small air craft that was hovering just a foot off the ground. It was chrome silver, with a dark streak of red over it and the symbol of Garden sweeping over its hull and on its side. It looked vaguely like a ying yang with both black and white almost mixing together in the center and then, just separating by a single line, curving away from their origins in a circular figure until it descended into a fully ended point. The dark ended in a point above, while the white ended below the design. Behind the illusion of the black and white circle sat another, with occasional lines connecting the inner and outer edges together. Behind that was a red cross that had an acrylic design disappearing and nearly invisible. The cross almost appeared to be marble like in design.

As Kaidia entered the ship, she mused on what the SeeD insignia meant. The joining of light and dark, mixing in the center, as if they were not sure what was truly dark or light. But each were separated, there was no dark in light and no light in dark. Both sections were separated, almost as if there was a divide between the two. Maybe it was like their lives. Something so complex that was descended into something so simple, light and dark with no gray. Maybe that's how SeeDs were supposed to see the world, that good could not be bad and no bad could come of good. Or maybe it was trying to show SeeDs neutral tendencies. How both light and dark did not matter, only how it was shown or viewed by the outside world. So if light and dark did not matter, did good and evil?

She shook her head, the flimsy concept of Good and Evil were not real. Evil and Good came from those that would suffer themselves to be cast into those roles. Maybe that's what the SeeD insignia meant. That SeeDs cannot be cast into a role unwillingly, because they are neutral, and to them light and dark or good and evil do not mean much.

The plane rose gracefully and turned to head south east, flying slowly away from the only home she ever knew and heading towards the future, whatever that was.

* * *

This chapter was a lot of fun to write…especially the musings about the SeeD insignia. Please leave a review.

Ja'ne

Avie


	3. Chapter 3

The ground moved in an almost dizzying pattern of greens and dark browns. This bleak landscape was only interrupted by sparse forests and, sometimes, by the roads and rail tracks that cut uneven lines in the road, thus linking the major cities on the Galbadian continent together. This seemed to tie them to another as if trying to show that there was some form of unity between Galbadia and its dukedoms, Dollet and Timber. This unity was a lie, she mused. Their was no peace, and despite a new government in power and the efforts of many to swerve their state out of the large country's control, little seemed to have changed in the past 20 years. Dollet and Timber were still rebelling, and still overrun with Galbadian troops. The Galbadian President, Jeremy Deling, had, if possible, tightened his grip further on the tiny nations that were already overwhelmed before.

The roads meant nothing; only serving as a memory to days where there was peace on this continent, where all dukedoms and states were recognized and respected; before the power hungry Deling family had probably bought their victory in the presidency. And once in control, they began to plant the seeds of war in the populations mind. 'Oh great…another SeeD joke…'

She had heard rumors that Vinzer Deling had been assassinated by the Sorceress Edea during the second wave of the Sorceress Wars. And, as killing the only leader of a nation will do, it threw everything and everyone into a panic. Thus the Sorceress and her manipulated 'Knight' had managed to wrest control and began to corrupt the Galbadian army for their own purposes. She had led the troops so far astray that they had managed to secure Galbadia Garden as their base of operations. Luckily, the Balamb SeeDs withstood their assault and won over them. Then, the Sorceress and her Knight had vanished, and without their leadership, the country elected the only one they saw as having a chance to reunite them; the son of Deling. Of course, it did help that he resembled his father and the populous needed something at that time to reassure them that everything would be alright.

It had turned out to be a horrible mistake.

Where the father would have backed down eventually from his wish to unite the entire country as one; the son wanted more control than that. And, despite repeated calls to stand down, he sent more of the army into the small city states. Nothing had changed for the war torn continent. The feuds and the amenity would hold deep for many generations to come.

Their ship was only traveling around 20 feet from the ground and as Kaidia gazed out, watching the countless miles slip by in a sickening blur; she blinked harshly and turned her attention to the small room that she and her squad, as well as the Instructor, were seated in. Kayden sat to her left, and was studying his gunblade intently, as if trying to focus his attention off what was about to occur. She wished him all the luck in that. His mid length blonde hair hung down, and covered his face, so she could not get a sense of what his eyes were saying.

Ryu Dincht sat calmly, or so it seemed. The only action he was partaking in was twisting his hands in a knot over each other. He was not as bowed as Kayden and she could feel the nervous energy around him.

Their leader sat next to Ryu. His expression was both calm and afraid at the same time. She did not know him well enough to judge what he was thinking but, as she knew from her own experience, everyone was just barely able to contain their worry.

Kaidia directed her gaze back to the ground below her feet. She sat, with one leg crossed over the other at the ankle, and leaned back so she was resting on the wall. A moment later she crossed her arms in a defensive manner.

There was a chance that she or a member of her squad could be seriously hurt or killed during this venture. It was incredibly rare that a cadet would be injured enough to die, but it had happened only once in Galbadian history. Several years before she entered the final year of her own stay as a cadet, the news had passed through the Garden like an explosion; that one cadet facing the SeeD exam had been killed due to combat. The enemy had surrounded the cadets and, before help could arrive, had nearly slaughtered the entire lot. The other two survived, barely, but the third had passed and was beyond any means to save him.

Sadly, the two had failed as well, for if they had kept a level head during the combat, there might have been a chance that their companion would have lived. But the panic had gotten to them, and now she realized what they could have been thinking and feeling as the time approached; the fear of failure and what was to come and the panic of their first actual battle.

Kaidia was no fool; she assumed that during this exam she would be forced to enter her first combat and would be judged on if she could kill another human being. If she showed any sign that she could not complete that harsh sentence, then she was not ready to be a SeeD and potentially never would become one. It was a fact of life; some die and some live. A SeeD would merely have to be able to decide, if necessary, who lived and who died without any second thoughts. If they were hired to assassinate someone, they could not fail. If they were hired to stop a would-be killer, then they were not allowed to show their adversary mercy.

It was a well known fact, but not a good one. She had killed beasts and monsters before, and did not feel much emotion for them. 'But killing a human? Who wouldn't hesitate at that? They're just like us, but on a different side. And to them, we're the enemy. They want our blood and we have to be strong enough to keep them from that and kill them. They could be my age. They could be younger. Hyne…what have I gotten myself into?'

Her thoughts, it felt, were traveling faster than the ground they were covering. When she tried to lock down on one single idea, a dozen popped up in-between. All of her concentration was centered on the idea of keeping calm, so she mentally recited the SeeD manual on the section of armed combat. This was not comforting either…as if any mental mention of the upcoming events turned into a whirling wind of confusion. Kaidia knew that something was going to happen, and the notion of it made her stomach turn worse than having Ochu blood gush out at her and cover her completely.

She didn't know what to feel so she concentrated on feeling nothing for now. When it was over, she would then analyze what had taken place, but in the meantime she would have to be ready. She had to keep calm and level over the entire exam, not just for herself anymore though. She realized that she had to keep herself under control or it may cause Ryu, who would look to them for guidance, to panic. If he saw their fear, then the entire situation would degrade further. Also, Kayden needed her too; needed her to back him up and protect their leader. He could not issue enough cover on his own and would have to trust her enough to keep his back too. He would lose faith in her if she gave into panic. And Suzu didn't need the further stress of a hysterical cadet on his hands.

Kaidia would keep her end of the exam, and expect Suzu to lead them well. They had all been trained to accept orders of their superiors and accepting orders was what she was conditioned for as a SeeD cadet.

Then her attention shot from the ground to her Instructor, as he stood and moved towards a section map.

"Let's begin…" Bane started.

With one hand he reached out and pointed to a section of the map. It grew more focused as his hand approached, focusing on one section. Kaidia assumed that as the map grew towards one area, and more details of the lands could be seen, that this was the area they were heading towards. The map then turned into more of a motion video, ahead of the lead ship. The camera seemed to zoom in on the mountains. Then the zoom cleared and there were faint entrances curved out of the peaks that they were fast approaching.

"28 hours ago, the Dollet Dukedom made a request for SeeD personnel to assist in avoiding an unknown army from invading through the mountain caves and separating them from assistance from the outlying areas."

Instructor Bane's hand drifted up and, with the flicker of another key, the map changed to overhead vision. There were three colours, all etched in different locations, over the distance of the mountain range. With a wave, two of the three colours vanished for the time being. What was left was several different sized dark green dots decorating the landscape in varying areas.

"This is the approximate locations of the unknown army at present moment, due to the best guess of SeeD strategists. As you can see, there are several smaller units that have broken off from the larger ones. There are no detectable radio communications between sections of the army and we have assumed that these smaller groups are being used to pass messages back and forth. As you see they are, by majority, evenly distributed between each larger sections of the army." Bane spoke as he gestured to some of the dark green blots.

"These units must be cut off, as it is assumed these soldiers are runners and are being used to pass notes between the larger groups." Their instructor continued after a few minutes. "It is likely that these smaller groups are being used to plan a greater assault with the larger ones. "

With that, the small dots were highlighted against the larger ones.

"The military's possible intention is to cut off the dukedom from outside assistance and thus cause the surrender of that section of the continent. Why is that a danger to the rest of Galbadia?"

'Because according to combat rules listed under section 1b 1:8 of rules of engagement, that it is detrimental to allow an unknown force to gain a land hold on ground in a strategic location; as it could be used to launch an invasion of the surrounding area.' She mentally answered. 'Especially if you do not know the size of the army you are facing. Dollet would be a logical place to start an invasion. It is the major shipping center for goods over seas. Does that mean that the enemy's main method of transportation is over seas? No I can't assume that until there is more proof…'

There was silence for a moment until it became apparent to Kaidia that no one was going to answer.

The instructors gaze locked on hers suddenly, and she held steady under his intent study. "Cadet Dos - Santos? Care to give it a try?"

"Yes Sir. It would be detrimental to allow an army of unknown size, and also an unknown base location, to gain a strategic hold on the main continent, Sir. With this land hold the rest of the continent would be vulnerable to further attack, Sir.

He nodded slightly there. "Correct. In the future, do not be afraid to speak up if you are aware of information, as a failure to speak may cause harm to yourself or your team."

"Yes, Sir."

Instructor Bane's hand gestured back to the map once again. "As you can also see, the areas where we expect a large number of forces are evenly divided with areas where there is less. Squad A's primary objective is to neutralize this team here and to ensure that no messages reach or leave from this area."

This was stated as Bane seemingly erased the rest of the 'dots' to only show one of the smaller sections.

"Your job is the protection of the larger group of SeeDs that are now infiltrating the cave and are, with assistance from Dollet soldiers, surrounding the larger groups. Your mission is to cut off the flow of information between this group and the ones here. In a sense, cut off their connection to each other. This must be done in secret. We cannot allow the enemies to get a sense of our numbers or our locations. Avoid confrontation when possible.

"The purple points represent yourselves in this venture. This one in particular…" Bane continued as, all but one of the purple points showed through on the map. "Represents your squad…"

Kohana could see that her squad's final location would be just to the left of one of the small green dots, representing the runners of the unknown army. She assumed that they would be expected to watch that group carefully.

"The larger lighter coloured green is the enemy and their expected locations due to the most recent transmissions from our personnel, and the red is the joined forces of Dollet dukedom troops and our SeeDs moving to surround them. This is for information only, so you can get a picture of what is occurring around you."

The map grew in size until only an image of one opening could be seen in the mountain wall. "This is where you will be expected to enter from. The Squad leader will be given two locator devices, so that he can guide your team to where the enemy army is holding. The other Squads participating in this exam each have their own section to watch over. Failure of one group could cause the whole attack to fail. Once the entire army is cut off from one another, the real attack begins and you are to withdraw." Bane continued.

"The order to withdraw takes precedence over any other order, and if you do not reach the rendezvous point in time, you will be left behind. You have proven yourselves worthy to take place in this SeeD exam and we place our trust in you."

"Sir, yes Sir." Kayden, Ryu, Suzu and herself all chorused together before snapping into an equally quick SeeD salute.

He nodded once and returned to his spot at the head of the room.

'Well….at least we know what we're getting in to…' Kaidia mused to herself slowly. 'So we just have to keep an eye on the messengers and ensure that no message is delivered or leaves that section. And once the final attack occurs, we withdraw. They've placed too much responsibility on us. This goes against the SeeD Manual. Knowing somehow doesn't help…'

She was still nervous about what was to occur. The cadet squads had a large responsibility placed on them and she was now hoping that her Instructor's words were true; that whoever passed the first and second exam deserved to be in the third and there would not be a weak link. 'I'll have to watch Ryu though….' She decided. 'If anyone is going to panic it'll be him…'

There was no going back, she thought to herself, as the just visible mountains began to loom larger and larger in her window, until they seemed to blot out the sun and hide every comforting thing from view. 'This is where it begins; where my future will be determined whether I'm ready to enter SeeD, or…or repeat the year.'

"Get ready to be deployed." Suzu commanded suddenly. "ETA is three minutes and counting. Head for the entrance immediately, checking for land traps as you go."

"Yes, sir." Kaidia, Kayden and Ryu said as one.

"You ready?" Kayden whispered to her as they gathered themselves to be deployed only steps from the opening of the caves they were stationed in. She ran a hand down the hilt of the weapon she held on her back, checking to see if it was in the correct position to be removed quickly, lest an attack comes. It was a sleek weapon, its lines dancing dangerously in the light of the room they were standing in, and it required a great deal of skill to wield, both in the control of the blade as well as in the trigger that made it such a powerful, but equally dangerous weapon. Hers was the lightest Hyperion model in its first form. It was a good weapon for a cadet about to become a SeeD, basic and easy to use.

Satisfied with her gunblade, she quickly turned her attention to her collection of backup knives that donned almost every possible hidden location that the uniform offered. All were within reach and easy to grab if she needed a quick defence against a surprise attack or a throwing weapon to head off an escaping enemy.

Then, last but not least, the ammunition needed for her gunblade. It was held in a container on her right side hip and easy to reload when necessary. She had trained with reloading her sword for so long, that she could probably do it in her sleep. As in battle, one didn't have much time to be fumbling with bullets and their places and the reloading process had to be quick and without thought behind it. She and Kay had been grilled for years on that alone and were now very proficient at it.

She nodded at Kayden to answer his quiet question, and then turned her attention back to her squad leader.

"Here's the order we are to descend." Suzu continued.

'At least he sounds confident in his role…should be reassuring to Ryu.'

She noted that Kayden had been glancing at the soft spoken blonde for several minutes now…as if her thought had occurred to him as well. It was comforting that someone she knew at least realized the potential situation they had.

"I'm first, next is Ryu…then Kayden and Kaidia take last and flank our backs."

She nodded obediently and slipped into her position next to Kay, behind the other two boys, silently waiting for the hanger door to open and for their charge to the caves.

'That is not the order I would have given…' Kaidia thought to herself. 'It would be better if myself, Kayden or both were behind Suzu. But if both of us were there, then Ryu would be alone…hum…then maybe Kayden ahead of myself…me diagonally behind him, in a triangular formation and Ryu directly across from me. All are protected, and the cover is not too far back. I hope Suzu has realized why Kay and I are with him. We're meant to cover him…but I can't argue, he's my squad leader.'

She suddenly stopped thinking; sensing a gentle intrusion on her mind.

'_Bast?'_

'_You are ready, love.' _

And his presence was gone once more.

"Ready your weapons!" Suzu added on. "ETA is 30 seconds!"

She slid her hand to her back and effortlessly drew forth her gunblade. Next to her, and with a heavier model of the Hyperion style gunblade, Kayden held his in a ready stance, preparing, as she was, to charge down the opening ramp and descend into their first real battle. Ahead of her, Ryu tightened his grip on his shotgun, held defensively down towards the ground. Suzu also tightened his grip on his silver shuriken, shifting it to a ready stance.

It seemed that, only a heart beat later, the ship crashed down roughly onto the turf of the battle, and before the bridge completely opened Kaidia found herself charging through the dawning opening of the ship and following the course Suzu led through the shadowed ground and without incident entering the cave.

He paused there for a second to get his barring course correct in whatever device he was holding. She mused to herself that the squad leader should have already known the direction he wished to head in prior to entering the cave, but if she spoke to correct him then it would be noted by those that watched their every movement and word that came from all. 'Big Brother, anyone?' she thought in what was almost amusement.

It wasn't long before Suzu had seemingly picked a route through the confusing maze like tunnels, for he turned back to face the rest.

"Sheathe your weapons." He stated calmly

'He better not've done that to be dramatic!' Kaidia thought as she obeyed his direction. 'We need all the energy we can get as is and running in with weapons drawn and blazing in the sun is definitely not secretive! Why am I stuck with an idiot as a leader?'

Her opinion of Suzu Higa as a cadet was slowly decreasing steadily whenever he opened his mouth to give an order. 'How did he get passed the SeeD exams? Well, he is one of the commander's all time favourites. Kay and myself are favourites too, but we don't fawn over him the way Higa does…that better not be why he's leader! He's already put all of the SeeD's and cadets in danger by his flashy entrance!'

By the flicker that darted across Kay's eyes, he too agreed with her on the issue of the reasonable lack of intelligence of their squad leader. She wondered if he was cursing his bad luck as she had been too, since she made the disturbing realization.

Suzu handed Kayden the second locator device he had been given back on the ship before turning to look within the cave's confines. "We move, following this canyon baring 45 degrees west of our location. Stay in the formation I have previously ordered.' He added.

'He's still not considering the fact that Kay and I are meant to be his backup and Ryu our long range! And that the short range cover should be nearer to the one they are supposed to cover, it's in the SeeD manual... does he expect to take on everything by himself? Suicidal! We should be marking our path too, incase we get lost. He better know how to read a map…'

"Only silent weapons only, no guns, unless necessary. Let's not alert them to our presence."

Finally it seemed to have seeped into their leader's mind that to complete the objective, there could not be any sounds as they approached. 'Only…silent weapons….only? What? Well at least he thought of that…I'm surprised…Maybe he's just adjusting to leadership. I should be less critical until….until something happens.'

"I will not pull a Seifer….I will not pull a Seifer…" Kayden muttered quietly to himself.

Kaidia wondered what he was going on about….

"Move out!" Suzu ordered once more before trekking into the deepening dark of the underground.


	4. Chapter 4

The darkness never seemed to end; only seeming to spear on ahead of them, churning up dark thoughts to go along with the emptiness surrounding all. There was no relief to the shadows around them, and even when a tiny light flickered off one of their covered weapons it vanished too quickly for any peace to come from it.

Kayden knew that the night in the cave was an illusion, one of a bright sunny day outside. But that meant nothing now. Here he was, with his team, running towards some sort of battle with forces invading a peaceful civilian target in hopes of heading off the enemy.

As he had heard during the briefing; the cadet role during this exam was crucial, maybe even excessive for the amount of experience the entire group had in armed conflict. They were cadets, with no background on war, and they were expected to stop messages from arriving and departing to two major sections of the army. And despite his and Kaidia's talents put together, this almost seemed to be a fail already. If he was familiar with the rules of combat, then this mission handed to the cadets broke many of them. 'I can't say anything though…'

His mother always told him that it is important to be prepared for any circumstance that could incur in a mission, and be ready to handle that situation if necessary. 'But this is stupid! Ryu's beginning to panic already, and we're not anywhere near Suzu to protect him! What if something happens! Suzu's put his protection the furthest away; and we can't disobey or we'll be docked! Hyne this is ridiculous…'

Ahead of him was Ryu, clutching his shotgun almost like a lifeline; as if he was too afraid to let go of it for even a moment. As it stood, he was more likely to accidentally shoot a team mate then an enemy. His hands were trembling so much that Kay was almost sure he would drop his gun. He was also tense, running in jerky strides and nearly stumbling over blocks in their way. Kayden almost cursed when he realized that he had been placed directly behind the scared blonde.

Suzu ran in the lead, his carrying his oversized shuriken across his back in an unlocked position, in case he needed to quickly draw it to his defense. Kay could not see any other visible weapon on Suzu; they did exist though, but were hidden in out of the way locations. Kay had come very close to smacking their 'leader' on the head several times already, but had been forced to bite his tongue to keep his patience.

His performance would be watched most carefully for reasons he had no control over. It did not matter that his mother was one of the SeeDs that defeated the future sorceress, all his problems stemmed from his father, Seifer Almasy.

He loved his dad, they got along great, but his father's reputation had marred his. His instructors knew who his father was, and seemed to be almost angry that he would dare try to become what Seifer could not; a SeeD. And with this infamy against him, many would look for reasons to see his father in his actions. Kayden responded by trying to act more like his mother, only when authority was around. So the face he showed his superiors was vastly different to the one he showed his friends. But during this crucial exam, he would be examined carefully, to see if any rebelliousness existed in him.

And directly to his right was Kaidia. He was close enough to see the flickers of shadows dance across her face, now intent and serious. She carried her gunblade on her back, but in her hand rested a drawn dagger, as if she were expecting some sort of attack. It was held low, pressed nearly into the shadow of her body so that the flickers of light would not reflect off the uncovered blade. He was surprised when he realized he was holding a dagger too, and could not recall when he drew it as he ran. It wasn't a bad strategy, he realized, the best he and Kaidia could come up with, without seemingly disregarding their leaders orders.

The dagger could be used as a throwing weapon, ahead or behind them, or used as a counter for a surprise attack. This would either way rid their hand of the weapon and after discarding the secondary they could then be free to draw their gunblades after. Also, they could be free to cast a necessary spell on themselves, their team or the enemy. He and his girlfriend worked well together, they had much practice in handling enemies between the two, and would not need time to discuss strategies; knowing instinctively who would do what in a certain battle. 'But working with two more may throw us off…What was I thinking?!'

The team had already avoided some attacks, and when forced to fight they would finish up as quickly as possible. Usually it went without saying that the command was to just slip past those monsters, if possible, and engage only if necessary.

Suzu then called a halt, seemingly skidding to a stop just ahead of the shocked Ryu, who slammed into the eldest boy's back and proceeded to stumble them both to the ground. Thankfully, Kayden had been paying more attention then Ryu had been and just managed to slow before crashing over the pile of two boys. Kaidia just stared down at them, as if mentally labeling them as idiots and wondering why Hyne had targeted her in the first place.

"Watch where you're going!" Suzu exclaimed loudly.

'Great! Announce to everything and everyone that we're here!' Kayden complained to himself.

Suzu's angered retort echoed in the caves, sending sound further down the corridor they were standing. Kayden tensed and listened closely, hand drifting up towards grasping the hilt of his favorite sword in preparation to a half suspected attack. Before any more thought could come, they were awash with two monsters, seemingly appearing from the corner of his vision. For a moment, there had been nothing, but suddenly there were two beasts blocking their path. Thankfully they were the same species, unfortunately they were Anacondaurs.

Both were probably mates, as they were together. Their dark green skin was patterned up with diamond slivers of black and mid green. The skin shimmered in the dim almost non existent light of the cave and cast an illusion of wetness to the creatures.

Both snake like creatures reached out from their original coiled position and now swung their blunted heads just above his own arm reach above his head, and they stared down at him and his equally surprised group with dark black eyes; shallow, cold and lifeless. Kay and his group had just become the hunted, the prey, in the bleak eyes of the slithering creatures.

And dinner may be a possibility. All Anaconduars were poisonous, their blood, if splashed on someone would cause physical sickness and dizziness. But their venom was deadly if not treated with an antidote or a curative spell. If injected, without a cure, the symptoms would start with numbness in the legs and arms, making using a weapon to defend yourself impossible. The numbness would lead to paralysis, usually under the cold snakes watchful eyes, and as your heart reacted to the toxins induced to it, it would beat irregularly and suffocate the brain and lungs for crucial blood and air. It was a horrible death. And if poisoned by either, you only would have a period of ten minutes to use an antidote on yourself or suffer death or many hours of pain.

One flashed its tongue out, tasting the air for the scent of what it probably assumed to be its dinner. Kay was sure as hell that he would not be the monstrous creature's next meal. It flickered its tongue back into its mouth and hissed in what could almost be described as pleasure.

The one furthest away coiled up, reaching further above the first, almost touching the top of the cave with its blunted head. It almost seemed to vanish into the shadows of the cave the only visible section was the eerie glowing reflection of himself shining back into its dead eyes. The closer one whipped its pointed tail to and fro, as if to express its irritation for the interruption into its territory.

The snakes' tails were very dangerous. Each section of the cross like tail, including the vestiges of the tail, were covered with a mid level poison. Thankfully the only deadly poison was the one the carried in their mouths, to be injected when they bit a prey. But being cut with the tail would lead to several hours of 'fun' while your body felt like a thousand needles were burning into your skin, if not treated almost immediately.

Near their heads there was a wing like structure that jutted out from their necks, in two waves; the first partially covering the second. Kayden knew that these helped the large snakes balance upright for an extended period of time. These, on both, had blotches of red adorning the almost black green center.

Both had a pale green belly that ended just below their snout and turned to darker colours above, helping them blend into the usual cover a forest would give them.

'What are Anacondaurs doing in a cave?' he thought to himself.

Kayden sprung aside, moving away from the pile up of their leader and their shooter, and slipped ahead of them. There was no way they could avoid this fight, and by the time the two untangled themselves, there would be no time to slip past and get a good distance. Now that the snakes knew that they were here, it was likely they would be followed by them and could be ambushed when they were not expecting it.

"What are Anacondaurs doing in a cave?" Kaidia echoed his thought just as it occurred to him.

She fell to his side, each standing with their gunblades drawn together, glinting dangerously in the dim light that the cave offered. His eyes met hers for only a second, and she inclined her head quickly to the two people behind them, struggling valiantly to arise from the floor. Unfortunately, every attempt the shocked two made to get up, one would end up tripping the other and they remained as they were.

Kay nodded in confirmation to her quiet question; he would be the main attack here, and she would protect the down fighters. He was stronger on brute force, but she was quicker and could dodge faster. Kayden tightened his grip on the gunblade, securing himself physically with his opening move as well as symbolically readying for what was to come in this battle. He charged away from Kaidia using what he hoped to be a surprise attack for the one closest to him.

Above him, a dark and white wave of magic flared following an indeterminate path that Kaidia chose sending her magic towards the furthest Anacondaur.

He just noticed a large dark cloud beginning to form around the furthest monster blocking its vision from both eyes. 'Why did she use blind?' he questioned himself. 'Confuse or sleep would have been just as effective. Or not….I understand now.'

He knew why she picked that spell. There was no need to cast sleep just yet, and confuse may just cause the creature to attack unpredictably instead. It could attack its mate, itself or even a team mate. But blind made its attacks virtually useless, as it could not see where it should be attacking. With this tactic, she had effectively knocked down the creature's strongest offense with one easy spell. But there was no time to guess further.

He danced around the first, barely evading its sharp eyes and even shaper attack. It turned to follow his movements and sprang forward with its prickly teeth baring them through its line like mouth, as it approached him. Kayden dodged again and instead the foremost snake bit down on his gunblade in lieu of his left arm. It had been fast, only a second pause in which he had to react without thought.

Dark green spat up from its mouth, as teeth broke on the sharp metal surface and as it hissed, it brought up more sickly liquid from its damaged mouth and spat it on his sword. Kay dislodged the mouth, which had, for some reason that defied all logic, remained attached to his blade. He was rewarded with the return of the control of his weapon but also with a spray of the green liquid.

'Must use an antidote.' he mused to himself. Kayden knew that a bite from an Anacondaur was poisonous but he was not sure on if the blood held the same lethel toxicity as the saliva. Actually, he wasn't sure if what was spat at him was blood or saliva or a combination of them both.

An encounter with an Anacondaur's blood was only an annoyance, but during this mission, there was no time to slow down and wait for the effects to diminish. He already felt a sickly feeling winding its way though his stomach and his legs and arms felt as if thousands of picks were attaching themselves, painfully. He could not use an antidote or cast a spell while he was entertaining the snake though.

The one he was contending with hissed in anger and without thought Kayden dodged the creatures counter attack, barely catching the whip like tail with the blunt side of his gunblade, raised protectively over his head. Without waiting, he pushed backwards with all his might and sent the tail flying at the serpent instead.

There was no pause. The creature lashed out at him, and before he could even raise the sword to counter, it lashed him in the side, cutting through his uniform to his unprotected skin. Where the contact was made, there was a warm burning sensation, which told him that the poison on the skin had been injected.

The creature struck again and caught him in the leg, but missed the third time. Moving quicker than even Kay thought he could, he darted behind the snake and brought his blade crashing down on the its mid back before dancing back out of the furious monster's opposing attack.

Kay reached into his mind, seeking something. Grasping at one particular spell he threw it out of himself, and aimed it directly at the hissing animal in front of him. His left hand extended naturally from his body, palm parallel to his chest as the dark purple energy gathered its self there for only a second before many light coloured stars circled around himself gaining speed as they did before lancing out towards the snake he was competing with. The stars now circled around the confused snake's head, whose eyes flickered back the colour of the stars. Then the eyes dilated as a sheen of sparks emerged from the dancing stars and surrounded the creature. A moment later it dropped, to the ground. Its heart beat slowed as it entered the realm of sleep.

The spell would not last long and Kay took a breath and steadying his racing heart. He reached into a pouch he carried and drew out a dark green pill and swallowed it quickly. Almost immediately, the tingling began to recede in his furthest limbs, making it easier for him to move once more. As far as he knew, he had at least ten minutes of initial exposure to the toxins to use an antidote pill and have it be effective. If he had waited, it would have had to be one of his Esuna's that would have been used. He needed to avoid that spell though, that was one he had drawn on one his nightly ventures with Kaidia, and the questions that would come from that were not ones he wished to answer.

Behind him, Kaidia was entertaining the second serpent, which seemed to be trying to convince her to drop her gunblade and let it close enough to attack her as well as give it a place where it could expect her to be to attack. The monster took several swipes at her, usually missing by several feet, and she seemed to be fairing well as the obviously confused creature stumbled around uncertainly, trying to sense its surroundings now that it could not see its enemy. She was not even bothering to parry the assaults, just dodged to the right or left as they came and was slipping closer and closer to the enraged beast every moment she evaded its attack. But she did not move too far from her position, directly in front of Ryu and Suzu, who were now just coming out of their shocked stupor and had finally succeeded in jumping to their feet.

A moment later, he heard a gunfire shot to his left and there was Ryu striding forward to join him in the battle with the dozing serpent. When it was hit the creature awoke and instinctively countered the attack to itself by barreling towards both of them. Kayden pushed Ryu backwards and met its charge, catching the creature's descent with the upturned gunblade once more. It was still dozy from the spell, and its strength and speed had not quite returned to it and this would be one of the best chances they would have to remove it from battle.

"Shoot it again Ryu!" he yelled over to the other boy.

Kayden held on for as long as he could and just as he was about to roll out of the way, a gun shot echoed from above him and forced the creature off of himself. It turned on Ryu, who backed up slightly under its approach.

Kay rolled his eyes. 'Do I have to do everything!' He jumped to attack it once more, sending a flash of blood exploding from the creature when he met its turned back and triggered into its unprotected side. If he had not heard it himself, he would not have believed it possible. The snake seemed to scream in both pain and hatred.

A moment later, a second trigger went off and Kay had just enough time to see Kohana jump to her right, to both avoid the monsters blind attack at her as well as to barely miss the incoming silver shuriken that cut rivets of blood from the snake's severed head. The body seemed to fall in slow motion just as the shuriken imbedded itself into the mountain wall.

"And that's how it's done, cadets!" Suzu exclaimed, seemingly proud of himself for killing their enemy, but also nearly killing one of his own team mates with the unplanned assault as well. As it stood, Suzu was lucky that he was too busy with the last threat and Kaidia too shaken up to respond to his statement.

"It's not over yet!" Ryu yelled from his position while emptying a round of gun shots into the raging snake's body, driving the animal's attention back to him once more.

Kayden dove forward and instinctively pushed all his weight downwards, cutting clean to the other side of the snake's swaying neck and triggered into its spine. Its eyes darkened and then went blank as it slowly seemed to dawn on the snake that its meal had just killed it, and it too slowly fell to the ground. It twitched once more and with a pool of dark green blood spilling from the fatal wound and lay dead at Kayden's feet.

Kay took another deep breath and one more to calm himself before pulling his weapon free of the snake's body. Aside from the 'Ochu incident' this was the hardest fight he had ever been apart of and he hoped there would not be a repeat any time soon.

"Did you see how I killed that one!" Suzu continued unaware that he was now in direct center of a dark glare coming from the girl he had nearly killed with his reckless actions.

With that battle, along with the orders he had given, Kayden was almost sure that Suzu had failed the exam already. Especially as the most important rule of combat was to not intentionally harm your team and Suzu had known Kaidia's location, but had thrown the weapon anyway. He was just lucky that the brown haired girl had managed to sense the impending danger with enough time to leap free of both the snake's guess attack and the certain fatal blow.

Kayden walked up to his girlfriends' side, noticing that Kaidia seemed to have given up mentally trying to fry Suzu alive and had fixed her gaze onto her own gunblade in annoyance. He glanced down too, and caught his own reflection in his own sword.

A moment later, a shimmer of dark blue surrounded him and he looked up to see Kaidia standing straight, with one arm extended in a fist perpendicular to her heart. The colour blocked his vision for only a minute before it receded, leaving no trace that a battle had occurred. Around him, Suzu and Ryu had also taken the time to heal themselves.

"That was really well done." Suzu continued; looking down to the black device he was holding in his hands. "We're getting near to our final location. Let's move out!"

"Respectively Sir," Kaidia spoke up quietly, surprising Kayden in the process. She was the last person he expected to come out and say something.

"What is it?" Suzu's whole tone expressed his annoyance.

"Would it not be prudent to find out why Anacondaurs are in a cave?"

"Why does it matter?"

"It is not their common habitat sir." She answered.

"And that's important, because?"

"Sir, it is uncommon. It may be best to at least consider that there may be other monsters in this cave that should not be here."

"We can handle them." Suzu spoke up, thus dismissing the girl's obvious good point.

'How can he dismiss it so quickly…I think it's a real concern! Who knows what else could be in here. And I for one do not want to run into more Anacondaurs!' Kayden mused to himself. 'I, at least, will take that point seriously.'

"Or are you disobeying my orders?" Suzu challenged directly.

"No Sir." She responded immediately.

A moment later Kaidia fell to his side and sent a concerned look in his direction. There was no fear in her eyes, just worry about what was to come. Kayden allowed his own worries to show through his eyes.

"And if we have no more objections…" Suzu started calmly.

'That wasn't an objection…that was her trying to bring a potentially serious situation to your attention as our leader.' Kayden thought spitefully. 'He can't just ignore the concerns of the team like that!' Kay tried to bite down on the thought to smack his leader once more. 'No, that would be similar to pulling what Dad did, and right now Ryu doesn't need to see dissonance between the squad leader and myself. If he does, he may not be sure whose orders to follow.'

"No Sir." Kaidia responded, using a tone that seemed to be cold and devoid of all emotions.

He knew her well enough to know that she was literally fighting the same urge he was to throttle their leader.

"Good. Then let's move out."

They left the twin snake bodies, lying where they fell, and continued on into the deepening gloom of the mountain trail. Kayden was beginning to agree with Kaidia's frequently expressed opinion that Hyne hated her. For the only person that really could offer any assistance, that he would now trust, was Kaidia. Ryu had proven to be unreliable; panicking when the snake approached him, while Suzu had been too blood thirsty; willing to risk a team member's life just to kill a monster. Kay knew SeeD was about risk but that had been ridiculous.

'What the hell did I ever do to Hyne to deserve this?'


	5. Chapter 5

Suzu scanned the never ending darkness, looking for any sign of an oncoming attack, not just with his eyes but with every instinct he had. It was quiet, too quiet and that silence grated on every section of his being. He took another deep breath and led his team further into the pit they were following. He was scared; they all were. But he had to hide his fear more than any other person on his team. If Ryu, Kayden or Kaidia saw his panic, it might cause them to overreact to a situation. The squad was relying on him for direction and any sign of weakness would be noted.

Suzu had cursed internally when he discovered that he was not only the leader but who exactly was in his squad; the two gunblade specialists, also known as the resident problem children of G-Garden, as well as the slightly timid firearm specialist. 'Perfect…Both Kayden and Kaidia lack any sense of guidance and control. How am I supposed to keep them in line if the entire staff and Headmaster can't! It's a good thing the Commander can deal with them, but they don't seem to respect anyone!'

Suzu was not stupid. The Commander picked favourites, and during a meeting with his superior, it had become obvious to the favoured boy that Verauan was practically gloating that three of his favourites were not only attempting the SeeD exam, but were together in one squad. He wanted them to help each other; to graduate and become an efficient fighting team of Seed. Suzu still wondered why the two were so favoured by the Commander of Galbadia Garden. All they did was practically master the Gunblade and other than that, they were normal. But Verauan respected their nerve, and practically allowed them to wonder at will. 'I'm surprised they haven't tried anything yet…maybe this day won't be so bad.'

Since the surprise attack on 'his' group by the large snake-like creatures, he had been watching his surroundings, and as they ran, on quiet feet, through the caves, he directed their next turn with a wave of his hand; right, left, right, straight, left, left and onwards through the almost pitch dark cave.

He was trying to maintain his grip on his group, as well as observing the remote he held and watching the corridors ahead for an attack. Every few feet he would look down, checking their present location on the map of the cave as well as their final location. He could have easily made Ryu the one to look at the map device, but he was clinging to his shotgun so steadfast that Suzu was nearly sure that the machine would be smashed in this desperate hands. Kayden possessed the only other locator; if something happened to the first, then their only means of survival rested in the hands of the impulsive Gunblader.

They hit a wall and, without thought, he waved them to the left. All direction had been lost in the confusing circling caves, and it reminded the cadet of the Tomb of the Unknown King, where everything looked the same on the inside, and it was nearly impossible to find the correct path of which would return the stranded students to their destination. As they encountered yet another corridor exactly like the one before he wondered whether or not this whole cavern was a massive circle, with them constantly striking the same point over and over.

'Calm down," Suzu mentally told himself. "Panicking is only going to alarm the others. A good leader keeps track of his emotions, and doesn't show them to his group. The Commander said I would be a good leader, and just to listen to instinct. I've done well so far…I killed the Anacondaur, but that doesn't excuse the fact that I nearly killed Kaidia in the process. She got out of the way though. I just hope she doesn't hold too much of a grudge.'

He had not meant to release the weapon when he had, but instinct had been ahead of his thoughts and he had nearly struck down a team mate in his haste. 'But Kaidia should have known better then to be that close to one of those things, especially without warning her comrades. She could have gotten hurt on her own!'

"Look out!" A voice yelled from behind.

He instinctively rolled on the ground and dodged an over head shot of sheen of golden stars before dodging another spell just before it hit him. The sickly green cloud hit just above his head, and he was up against the wall. From the corner of his vision, he noted Ryu fall to his knees and Kayden turning almost as green as the colour dominating the most recent enemies leaves.

Four Funguars stood behind the entire group. 'Great… first Anacondaurs and now Funguars.' He thought.

Their golden orange bodies swayed in unison despite no breeze existing in the cave. Following up their bodies were patterns of dark green leaves dominating the lower half, with one opening being a mouth. Suzu knew that the Funguars had razor sharp teeth that were only hidden by the creatures' leaf like mouth. The continuing pattern surrounding the mushroom monsters' lower body was only meant to confuse its normal hunting targets of the exact location of its dangerous mouth.

The body continued up in a tubular formation, with beady eyes on opposite sides of the creatures' body. With its eyes placed so far apart, nearly parallel on opposite sides of the monsters' head, their inner vision could not possibly be complete. They could only see to either side of their heads, not directly ahead of them.

This was why, that when confronted with an enemy, the Funguar would never attack head on, but would rely on peripheral vision to start an assault of their target; either as a magic spell, directed at a male target, or a physical attack directed at a female. The only reason they swayed so rhythmically was so that they could get a sense of what lay directly ahead of them.

The eight beady eyes seemed almost focused on the side of the cave instead of on his team, or what remained of it. Kayden had been poisoned and seemed to grow paler every moment he moved, and Ryu was taking a badly timed nap. That only left himself and Kaidia.

Nearly overshadowing their primitive eyes was a mushroom like hat, which covered the top quarter of their heads. The colours went from dark green in the center with flickers of colours towards the outsides. Usually, the male Funguars had the brightest colours on their plume, to attract a mate in order to spawn the next generation.

He cursed once more and rolled off the corner of the cave he was on, as two directed a dark green cloud in his direction. It hit where he had been just seconds before he moved, but then he realized that could not move further, and before he could do anything to prevent it, the world seemed almost to become clouded in a haze of sickly green smoke. He struggled in its midst, but every second he inhaled, he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. Now, as the moments ticked by, it was like his body was being weighed down by thousands of pounds of pressure, and his eye lids grew heavy, despite his struggles to keep them from falling.

* * *

Slowly, the Mushroom creatures turned on her. Their beady eyes glowed faintly in the light of the cave, and focused on her. She could almost sense their gloating as the last of her team mates fell victim to their dangerous spells. They saw her as the weakest of the party; unable to defend herself from their physical attacks. 'And if the entire group targets me with their laser attacks….'

She concentrated as there was only moments until the creatures decided on how to attack her. They were slowly moving in their swaying fashion to surround her, and as the first dove in to attack, she found the spell she was looking for. She dodged its monstrous mouth, and quickly cast out the magic to her defence.

A blue shimmer surrounded her glowing from and a semi-ovular shape cascaded itself in front of her. As her vision was cut off from the monsters, the spell solidified into a seemingly physical barrier, before vanishing, however, she could still sense the magic surrounding her. It was invisible to everyone else in the vicinity; sort of a trump card if she were to face a close ranged opponent.

The creature's attack bounced off the invisible liquid barrier with a minimal amount of pain for her, and the blast forced the mushroom creature to stumble back. The lead Funguar hissed in anger, seemingly furious at not being able to cause any significant damage to the last fighter, and fell back to rejoin its group of two. The final one was off to one side, seemingly lost, having been too slow to rejoin its brethren.

She did not wait; as the creatures moved for another assault she charged, moving from her position at the center of the group to the mushroom that was most cut off from them. As it reared up to bite down on whatever it could get its sharp and dangerous teeth into, she brought her Gunblade down and triggered into it, the shot barely echoed down the cave, being smothered by the mushroom's body. Black green blood sprouted out from where she sliced down and followed out the path of the bullet. The beady eyes widened as its primitive brain interpreted pain and it hissed weakly at her, as its blood dripped out of it. The Funguar was not dead; only badly injured and out of the fight, for the meantime.

The three to her left screamed in anger as their companion fell to the floor, dying in its own blood. That hit had been a luck shot; the creature hadn't known where she was, and she had attacked it from behind as the confused creature tried to gain a semblance of her direction. It had been facing the wall instead of her and thus was not prepared for her to attack. That was the danger of fighting Funguars; despite the eyes, you could never be sure of where their front was.

A white light ruined her attempt to finish off the downed enemy, and she broke off the attack and rolled with her sword out of the way of the shimmering light. The luminous brilliance streaked down and broke through several inches of the cave floor just where she had been a moment before. Even with her protect spell, getting hit with the painful laser attack was not something she wanted to do.

As she stopped her roll, a second light broke forth from one of the creatures and Kaidia was forced to dodge again, continuing towards the blocked corner of the wall. Once more, the light smacked down just to the left of where she had been, barely missing her by inches. Kaidia looked over her shoulder. The next attack would corner her, with no where to go but up. But as they continued their swaying approach, it was becoming unlikely that she could escape the net they were setting up. She doubted that she was physically strong enough to completely reflect the beam if it came directly at her and, unfortunately, evasion was now out of the question. If they cornered her, all would just shoot at once and there was little chance she could miss all three attacks.

Kaidia rose to her feet and readied for the assault. If she had to be forced into the corner, she could at least be on her feet for it, and would not need to take the precious moments it took for to gain her footing.

The third Funguar hissed and it shot at her too, and Kaidia gripped the handle of the Gunblade placing her left hand at a lower position, half kneeling to absorb the assured impact. The blunt edge of her sword caught the monster's beam of light, forcing her backwards as the sparks hit her weapon instead of her. The force behind that attack alone caused her to stumble backwards into the very section of the cave she did not wish to be, but at least she was on her feet.

Now having her cornered in the cavern, the mushroom monsters seemed to hiss in satisfaction. 'Great… I run into the only smart Funguars! Hyne really does hate me.'

They all began to slowly approach her. If all three Funguars shot her at the same moment, even with the strong spell she had cast to her defence, it definitely would be enough to injure her to the point where she would be helpless against a final attack. All three were facing her now; she could barely pick up a difference in the swaying pattern as their eyes gained a focus on her. 'So there is a way to tell which direction they're facing.' She thought to herself as she took in this information. 'I need to surprise them, but I need an accomplice. Not Ryu, that's for sure. Suzu I can't trust and he's too far away. That only leaves Kayden.'

The slight difference she had just picked up on opened and revealed sharp pointed dagger like teeth in the three monsters she was facing against. She concentrated again while slowly slipping her Gunblade into its carrier right across her back. For her plan to work, Kaidia could not be holding onto her weapon as it was just too heavy. Quickly, the spell she needed first rose ahead in her mind and Kaidia locked down on it and the second magical energy she would need to escape this situation.

Kaidia had been told she had a quick reaction time for spells, but she only had a second to cast both. Finding the curative spell that would bring Kayden around, she brought it forth from her mind and directed it right towards the second Gunblader. A blue light began to shine underneath Kayden before a white light engulfed his being. For the moment, she had vision of him, the cloud of green surrounding Kayden, flickered and then vanished as her Esuna magic began to ebb at the effects of the poison.

Not a moment later, their opened mouths began to shimmer as a deadly light began to swell in the dark cavities of their mouths. The mushrooms were hunting; getting ready to bring down a large and troublesome prey with a joint attack. Kaidia did not appreciate being their only target, and, just before the light hit her, she summoned forth her last spell. As the laser rushed towards her, a gust of wind, unheard of in the caves, blew up from beneath her and threw her towards the top of the cave, just avoiding the lasers as they hit the wall where she had been standing. The wind died a moment later, as if it had never existed.

They hissed in anger; their beady eyes had missed the quickly moving spell and now they did not know where their enemy was. It was as though she had vanished right in front of them. They had been temporarily blinded by their own attack, and the swaying quickened as they tried to get a sense of where their enemy had vanished off to. It did not seem to occur to any of their primitive brains to simply look up.

She looked down and met Kayden's surprised gaze, directed up at her location as she clung to the roof of the cave. Kaidia nodded to his unasked question in his almost amused gaze. Yes she was fine; yes she would join in his attack and no, her strange location was NOT funny.

Behind them, Kayden, on silent feet crept forward, his gunblade held low. Before Kaidia let go she reached into her mind and cast a second spell at Ryu. Of Suzu and Ryu, she trusted the gun specialist more, as he had not almost killed her during the last attack. He was nervous, but when presented with the option, she would take him over their blood thirsty 'leader.'

The spell circled around the sleeping dark-blonde haired boy beginning to wake him from his nap. Ryu stirred and she raised a finger to her lips, beckoning him to stay quiet, and he stared at her in response. Kaidia was sure that she would not live this one down for quite awhile. Kayden would see to that.

With that done, she nodded at Kayden. There were now three fighters up, and only three Funguars left. It was now time for stealth instead of brute power. As long as the boys were quiet, the Funguars would stay focused on looking for their lost meal, and she was nowhere near where anyone expected her to be. Their beady eyes were searching the walls, looking for an enclave that she could have dodged into. Their angry hisses were telling her that they were not successful in finding her.

Letting go of the ledge she held in one hand, she unsheathed her blade, and steadied it, holding it to the roof with one hand resting on its hilt. It was hard for her to hold the gun sword with one hand alone; it was far too heavy for her to wield properly as the Hyperion style stated.

Earlier in her instruction at Galbadia Garden, her weapons master noted that she would be small for her age, and would never be physically strong enough to use her blade as it was intended, even if it were the lighter modeled Hyperion in comparison to the bulky revolver styled gunblade. So instead of insisting she take up a new weapon, he simply changed her stance to make it possible for her to attack with the weapon balanced in two hands. He had also warned her about using a single-handed attack. If she did trigger it too often, it might cause her wrist to break under the strain of the bullet traveling the length of the gunblade.

Kayden now switched from his silent evasive attack as he closed in on the enemy, to a charge, she let go. At the same moment as his trigger went off into the one to the furthest right, she dropped down and skewered the lead monster right through its soft head and embedded her sword to the center of its unprotected body. It died instantly as her sword skewered through its central brain.

Before the third one could attack either of them, it screamed in pain as a round of bullets embedded into the back of its head, sending flickers of dark green blood at the two. Kayden yanked his blade free of the dead creature, and without a thought attacked the third. Kaidia resorted to just slicing through what was left of the Funguar she had killed to free her sword.

The last creature dodged Kayden's attack, but was shot once more in the head by the sheen of bullets that left Ryu's dangerous rifle. Before it could decide who to attack, Kaidia fainted at it, forcing it to instinctively dodge to the right, where Kayden was waiting for it and the second sound of his Gunblade triggering filled the air.

"Everyone okay?" Ryu asked, approaching her and Kayden.

"Just peachy." Kay answered for both of them.

Kaidia nodded quietly to his question, concentrating on waking up and curing their 'leader.' Suzu jumped and was on his feet and in an attack stance before it dawned on him that there was nothing left to attack. With nothing better to do, he approached the group.

"What happened?" he questioned.

"The Funguars are dead, Sir." Kayden answered.

"How?"

"Kaidia, Ryu and I killed them."

"And no one decided to let me help?" Suzu demanded in a hot tone.

'With you throwing your shuriken around like that you expected us too?' Kaidia mentally answered. 'You could have killed me!'

"Well?"

"Sir, you were too far away to have assisted with the Funguars, and by the time you would have recovered from the poison and the sleep spell, the fight would have ended." Kaidia answered.

"Fine." He said. "Let's move out. We're near our final location. Keep quiet, no matter what."

"Yes, Sir." She, Kayden and Ryu chorused together.

With that the order in the group was re-established. He was in the lead once more, followed closely by Ryu, and at a further distance herself and Kayden. Suzu had placed the Gunblade cadets at the back of the group to discourage pursuit, and because of their quick reaction time to an attack, they would be the best in intercepting a surprise attack.

The entire group had disposed of the monsters bodies, in case their route was used by their human enemies and the monsters discovered. Once again, Squad A was traveling at his direction through the deepest dark of the cavern. He directed them once more with the wave of a hand, now watching the locater device more closely then before. The team was close to their final destination and she would not be the reason that this attack failed.


	6. Chapter 6

A noise alerted Suzu, and he gestured behind him. He had learned from the 'incident' before that he could not just stop and expect the rest of the team to. That blunder had left himself and Ryu vulnerable to an attack by the deadly snakes that had haunted them in one of their battles, and at his direction, the three behind him stopped running and crept forward to his side.

He hesitantly glanced around the corner of the cave, and right into the approaching runners of the army. There were only five, but at the moment that was enough. This was it; their first human kill; the final test to see if they were ready to become SeeDs. He felt like he was going to be sick.

The enemy's location was just before the locater device insisted the team be or could possibly be this area they were in. Suzu wasn't quite sure but he was sure as hell not going to look at the moment.

These… people … could not be allowed to live and deliver their message to the larger groups, surrounding his group on two sides. The larger groups were far enough away in the caverns that there would be no chance that the small student squads would encounter them and be overwhelmed. The rest of the SeeD and Dollet armies were depending on the candidates to stop the messages and cut off the communication between groups, but Suzu had just realized that they were humans, and they looked like him. They were people too; involved in a conflict far above them… like his group. 'I can't think like that, not right now! I can do this! I have to. We have to.'

He slid back and met his team several feet away from the cornering wall. If all four went to look around the side it would have caused some noise, and that now, more then ever, had to be avoided. He gestured them closer and all four formed a small huddle.

"There's five people ahead, armed with guns." He whispered. "From the enemy army. They're runners."

Kayden and Kaidia nodded, their eyes however flickered their uncertainty and their fear of this situation. Ryu closed his eyes tightly and tightened his grip on his shotgun, seeming to murmur a prayer to something only he knew of. None gave voice to their reactions to his news, but he could feel the tension of the group raise to new heights. He knew them well enough to know that they all realized the significance of his sentences. All knew what they had to face in that moment; what they had to overcome, and there was no backing down.

"They're coming this way. We surprise them when they round the corner. Fast, quiet, and quick. Then it's over." He whispered again.

The three he was addressing nodded slowly, their reluctance for what was about to occur plainly visible. His reluctance burned stronger and stronger as he gazed into the shadowed eyes of his companions. This mission was what they were waiting for; what they had spent an entire year building up for the challenge of, and now when he was faced with it, all he wanted to do was run back to Garden.

He slipped forward and drifted back up to the corner of the wall, readying his shuriken in his throwing stance. He held it so that it was balanced defensively in front of his chest, ready to be flickered towards the approaching enemy. Only this time it was not a monster, and this time it mattered.

Behind him, Ryu prepared his shot gun, trembling faintly as he did, causing the entire gun to shake under his uncertain hand. Flanking Ryu were Kayden and Kaidia. Both were steady, holding their gunblades to their sides, preparing to rush the confused enemy before order could be made of the chaos.

Suzu swallowed once, and mentally began to count the seconds that it would take for the men to round the corner. He had reached fifteen when he saw the shadows coming closer. He closed in, beginning to switch to the throwing stance he had used before, praying he would not miss. 'Here we go…'

Before any other coherent thought could come, the fight had begun. The shadows rounded the corner and the five froze in confusion at the four teenagers standing in their intended path. Suzu swallowed quickly and flicked his wrist out, his weapon hurtling through the air and striking the first soldier right in the chest. The man fell, before he really had any grasp on what just had happened to him… dead.

The shuriken ripped through the man's heart and dark red blood seeped forth and coated the shimmering metal in its colour. Changing him from a student at Garden to someone who had just killed his first person, his heart felt as if a giant fist had enclosed upon it and as the person he had just killed died, it was as if his heart too was desperately beating, trying to circulate non existent blood to his deprived brain and organs.

The four humans left stared at the group and then at the body of their leader and turned to run back to their comrades to most likely warn them of the presence of SeeD. Having accomplished that, they would then contact the larger groups and warn them of an upcoming surprise attack. As a result the Gardens' plan would fail, and the Dollet army would fall.

They could not let this happen.

Behind him, the bullets sprayed over his shoulder, missing by majority but occasionally a shot would hit a body and a cry and more human blood would be spilt. Suzu stood there in shock at what he had done, staring down in horror at his weapon, embedded in the body of a man who could have been his brother. He was dimly aware of Kaidia and Kayden charging past, each without seemingly caring, and attacked the fleeing group.

Kayden went left as Kaidia circled ahead of the four and between them the group could not escape. Now that his friends were out there, Ryu became slightly more effective, his aim improved, as there was now a danger that by deliberately missing the enemy soldiers he may hit a friend. Placed with this choice, the dark-blond boy chose to assist his friends. But he was still not able to deliver a fatal shot. 'Unlike me…'

Instead, the shot gun specialist aimed and pierced the legs and arms of the men, and the ones he hit, were squeezed between the flashing gunblades and their blood leaked out and onto the floor.

It was furious and it was quick. None were left alive. When the four lay dead and the two responsible for their deaths were only breathing hard in reaction to the fight, but nothing else, no injuries and seemingly no regrets. Kayden was staring at the bodies, with no expression on his face, but his hazel eyes were flickering over and over again, past the two he had killed, as if he could not believe what had just occurred. Kaidia was looking down into the long blunt edge of her sword, as if afraid to look up and see the carnage she had caused with the weapon she was holding. He wondered if, out of in the entire group, he was the only one with anything resembling human emotions. Kaidia finally made her choice and looked directly into the faces of the men she had killed. He just wished he could look away.

Behind him, he heard Ryu fall to his knees, and lay trembling on the ground, his shotgun lying forgotten on his knees as he buried his head into his hands. He could still not move, not for anything. He could hear himself crying internally, wishing to take back his last action. Wishing he could help the dead man live and breathe again. The one that was lying in front of him, the one who's death was on his conscience, the one he had killed. Suzu felt his knees buckle.

"We… should clean up here." Kaidia murmured almost mechanically as she set her Gunblade into its holster.

Kayden nodded with as much life as the girl had spoken, his eyes never leaving the bodies. But it was a few minutes later when he began to assist her with disposing of the fallen men. There was silence as the two, using their training under Garden, cleaned up and removed any trace that anything was amiss. Both Gunblade specialists worked in silence, neither speaking to each other or to any other member of the group. It was as if they were machines; made to kill with no emotion. Suzu realized that is what they needed to learn in combat with humans; to learn how to look at someone in the eye and still be able to kill them, and then to continue as if nothing else mattered.

He stood there, watching as the two cleaned up and realized he had failed.

"Kayden, can you check to see our location?" Kaidia asked. "I'll get the last one."

"Alright." Kayden muttered.

The tall boy pulled out the locater device and walked a little ahead into the cave. Kaidia approached the body he was standing near, and hesitantly reached down and gently pulled the red gleaming weapon from its host, gripping the hidden handles carefully. She then wiped the sharp edges with a cloth before holding it out for him to take.

Suzu stared down at the offered weapon. It had killed someone; ripped through their unprotected flesh and drained them of his life blood. He had killed someone; not the shuriken. He was the one that threw it and it was his fault that that person had died.

"Sir." She almost whispered, looking into his eyes.

In that moment, he saw the pain in hers; the pain and the confusion. But Kaidia had won over hers, while he was lost. Almost numbly, he reached out and accepted the cursed weapon back. He used to love the look of the dangerous gleaming circular metal shuriken, but now he hated the sight of it.

She backed away as soon as the weapon left her hand and continued cleaning up the man he had murdered. 'I… killed him. Is this what it means to be a SeeD? To have to kill people? That could have been me…'

As she finished, Kayden walked back from where he had been standing and he continued to the girl's side before turning to address him.

"Sir, the area ahead is the location we are meant to secure."

Suzu stared at the boy. How could he be taking this so calmly? How could Kayden have just moved on like he did; like nothing had just happened? How could they possibly expect him too? 'It's not fair!'

"Are there any other exits to that area, other then the one we're in?" Kaidia asked.

"No. Everyone leaving or coming to deliver a message would have to take that path. There's no other way out of the area the group is holding. They're in a corner, and this is the entrance and the exit." Kayden explained.

"Okay." The only female of the group answered and their gazes locked on him for a moment.

He just looked at them, not really hearing what they were saying. It was so distant; as if they were talking from a great distance, their words did not matter anymore. Ryu regained his senses and slowly climbed to his feet and looked around.

Kaidia and Kayden started to walk with careful feet to the area where they were to be. A moment later, the shot gun specialist followed his friends.

'How can they do this?' Suzu finally thought to himself. 'It's impossible. They want us to be killing machines? Is that what we are?' And to his horror he found himself following the group into the area where they were sanctioned to be by their Commander.

He arrived in time to see Kaidia slipping back from the far wall to the two males that stood in the center of the room. He joined the two as she did, but could not say a word.

"The enemy is ahead." She reported.

'Enemy? They're people too; don't you realize that!' Suzu mentally shouted.

The three gave him a long look. Kayden looked curious and Ryu began to look slightly more panicked as all he did was stare back. Kaidia sighed, and lowered her gaze, seemingly accepting something. He knew they needed him to lead them, but right now, he just couldn't.

"Sir, if I could make a suggestion?"

He nodded, still staring at the cold girl.

"This is a prime location to hold. Kayden could go back and watch the way we came. It is a straight passage and we would have warning of an impending group. And I would watch the group ahead and be ready for a leaving group. You and Ryu would stay in the center ready to assist either of us."

He nodded to her plan; grateful that someone else had taken over what was supposed to be his position. With her leading the group, it would give him the time he desperately needed to recover his calm before he could take control of his squad once more. Kayden and Kaidia moved away and crept carefully to their locations, leaving him and Ryu in the middle.

There was silence for what felt like hours, but was really only minutes. Suzu continued to shove his emotions back under control, and steadied his racing heart. Near him, Ryu had soothed himself enough that his trembling grip on his gun had relaxed, and it stood at his side, ready for an attack. 'Well, we've gone through the worst now…' Suzu thought to himself. 'Nothing could possibly be worse than that.'

A wave of the hand came from Kaidia, and Ryu took the opportunity to quietly alert Kayden to the upcoming group. Soon, all four joined back together in the center of the room.

"How many?" he asked.

"Five." She whispered back.

"Same plan." He whispered.

All four crept forward and assembled themselves in order at the turn in this cave. His heart was beating so rapidly now, that he was afraid that the upcoming soldiers would hear the noise. He could hear them talking to each other, none expecting the attack that was about to come. None would know what hit them.

"Were did Xius go? He and his team should have been back by now." One was asking.

The one he killed now had a name.

"I don't know." Another responded. "He probably got held up by Lieutenant Helirs. You know what he's like. He needs some real bad."

"Don't say things like that…the weasel would report it to him, along with everything else he claims you said that you didn't say."

And as they rounded the corner, they did not get a chance to shout. This time the team worked perfectly. Suzu threw his Shuriken and it took off the shocked leaders head, his body falling to the ground, rolling next to it was his severed head, seemingly still donning a shocked expression. Ryu began to pick off the last two to turn the corner, Kayden and Kaidia charged past them and held off the other two as he followed their charge and retrieved his red coated silver weapon from the floor where it had landed after hitting the wall. The tallest soldier at the back turned and tried to run, but it was too late. Ryu stepped up and shot him through the head with his powerful gun. Only one shot and the man fell to the ground.

Just as that man fell, the last two fell to the experience of the sword wielding members of his group; the two blades nearly triggering in unison with the other.

The army was nothing. Their forces weren't trained any where near the experience of the SeeDs' or the Cadets. They were runners; the smallest, youngest and fastest members of the army. They did not have any military training and barely any weapons training. Only chosen to be where they were because of their fleet footedness. It seemed to make it worse that they were killing inexperienced soldiers, who could have been SeeD cadets had their parents sent them to Garden. 'I killed someone that couldn't defend himself.'

Suzu mused to himself as the group slowly and very quietly began to clean up the fallen bodies and dispose of any evidence of blood. 'More blood on my hands.' The throwing expert thought to himself. 'I wonder if the others are thinking what I am.'

The two Gunbladers resumed their position; guarding the exit and entrance of ten peoples' tomb. Suzu wondered if any more would die that day.

There was silence after that in the dead light they were standing in. Suzu squinted, his vision being slightly impaired due to the low level of illumination, and peered at the furthest away members of his team. They stood there motionless; just watching, like sentinels. Both appeared almost lifeless; machines programmed to kill. They had all just done so.

The minutes ticked by, slowly, as if mocking him with the painful passing of time. How time could change everything, and be the end for some. He hoped to anything that there would be no more killings this day. Suzu could not take anymore of death spilling from his hands.

Before his point, he had been a cadet. Confident in his ability to control magic and his prowess with the deadly weapon he held in his tight grip. Now that weapon had killed two men; he had watched them fall as he attacked, and he wasn't a youth anymore. The blood on his hands changed him, and he was sure he would never be what he had been before starting out on this venture. He would never be the same person he had been just a few hours ago when the day had begun. Suzu had given into panic during the first attack, and as he thought about it, the choking feeling swallowed him up once more. He was a killer and the faces of the men he had killed would haunt him for the rest of his life. He could not be a SeeD.

Something beeped quietly at his waist and he jumped out of his skin at the sudden and seemingly loud sound echoing through the tomb. He grabbed up the device and flipped it on.

"The main attack has started, Cadet Squad A." A recorded voice echoed in his ear. "Prepare to move out." The voice continued.

Suzu nodded to the phone, acknowledging its message. He waved the other members of his team over and when they all were gathered he quietly led them out of the dark area, which seemed all the more haunted by his knowledge that ten bodies lay there and would stay hidden for an eternity. 'They're families will never know. I don't want to put mine through that.' He thought as they crept from their location.

It was not the time to be running, not when they were that close to the small group of runners. They would be dealt with by the larger groups of more experienced fighters that would come; ones that were used to killing innocents.

When he led then down two caverns, Suzu stared to run, as if the souls of the ones he had killed ran behind him and wanted to pull them into the cold grip of death. He was only faintly aware that his squad was falling behind and the soft voice of the shotgun specialist echoed dully in Suzu's ears, but he didn't care. He just wanted to escape the tomb; escape the calling of the murdered that had fallen that day…

To escape his own guilty conscience.


	7. Chapter 7

They continued back through the darkness; Suzu ahead of them, followed rapidly by the now elated Ryu, who was seemingly happy to be out of that situation. Next to her, and reassuring her without realizing it, was her boyfriend, Kayden.

She had killed people. Three actually. Three people who would never walk around and be there again. They were over; done and nothing left to mark their passage; except her memories. Ones she would never forget. Kaidia had to force herself to look in their faces, to see what she had done and to see their eyes staring back at her, as if accusing her of their death. When she looked into their eyes that is all she had seen; their lives; what they had, families, friends. Like her. The only difference was that they were on opposing sides. To them, SeeD and Dollet was the enemy. There wasn't much separating the two. They were people, had lives, had a family, had a job, lived, but now it was over. Soon, everyone would forget them and would go back to living their own lives and they would vanish, like they hadn't existed; like they hadn't mattered to anyone. They could have been walking around a town, hanging around… doing normal things people did. But they were dead, and their deaths had changed her.

She was not innocent, not by anyone's standards, but Kaidia felt as if she had lost something precious to her and would never get it back. Her hands were now stained with human blood and she had somehow kept herself together; had not fallen apart like she wanted too, in that moment. At that moment, she did not know where that strength had come from, but was grateful it had been there. 'There will be death when I'm a SeeD. But when does killing a human become mundane?'

'_It shouldn't, love. You are stronger than what you think. There is a difference. The army they worked for wanted to enslave others. The sides may not matter; light or dark, right or wrong. But what matters is intent, and their intent was wrong.'_

'_But they had no training. They were innocent.'_

'_They were not. Even the lowest member of an army knows what they are fighting for, and believes in it to some extent. If the attack failed then those that they worked for would have killed many more that are more innocent than them. Like children and people who have not seen any war, and those that do not deserve any war.'_

'_How do I know what's right for me?'_

'_You will know when the time comes.' _Bast whispered into her mind.

He almost gave her a mental lick before distancing the contact once more. She sighed as she was left alone with her thoughts. Bast had done what he could to alleviate her stresses but now it was up to her to figure out her own answer.

They continued, following Suzu's desperate run through the cave; following his directions given by a wave of his hand as they fell further and further behind their leader. He seemed to be speeding up the closer they came to escaping the dark chasm. She prayed that he was paying attention to where he was going and had not given into the panic that had struck him in the first battle against humans. Kaidia could not blame his shock as she had felt much the same when the rush of the battle ended. The only difference between the two was that she had recovered faster than he.

The winding tunnel continued around them, and as her sense of direction faded, she had to place all her trust in the 'leader', who did not, at the moment, inspire too much confidence from her. Kaidia knew that leading the Squad was a role he had not been prepared to accept, but his panic was doing nothing for her own emotions and especially Ryu's. The boy just ahead of them had changed his focus from trusting the leader and seemed to be glancing back in her direction every few minutes. Every time she sensed his eyes upon her she would mask her concern to try to control his.

As Suzu entered the next area of the cave, without looking or listening for any approaching enemies, the inevitable occurred, and to Kayden and Kaidia's ears they could hear the shouts of anger coming from the soldiers ahead. Ryu slowed at the entrance of the area and then began to fire at the approaching group.

As she and Kayden caught up to Ryu's side and observed the newest enemies, she was suddenly struck with something. These were not runners; they were fully armed and seemed to know how to use their weapons. Several guns answered Ryu's and he ducked back into the cavern.

"There's eight of them and Suzu's being pinned by two. I can't get them off of him." Ryu reported.

"Use protect…" Kayden suggested.

"They haven't seen us." Kaidia answered. "They know Ryu's here but no one else. Ryu… keep firing. Try to lure the larger number over here. Kay and I'll surprise them, like the other plan. Don't use offensive magic yet… don't let them know that we have it."

There was a second of silence as all three silently cast protect on themselves and Ryu began to return the fire that had spewed at them.

"Come on out. We have your leader!" One yelled. "Come out and we won't hurt you, little boy." The others laughed at the comment.

Ryu responded aptly by shooting him in the leg, barely missing the kill shot he had tried for. They were fast, and the man had just barely moved from his position when Ryu fired.

"Fuck… Damn kids. There's only two. They should be easy to deal with. Come on boys."

"We could have some fun with them first." One pointed out.

Kaidia did not want to find out exactly what type of 'fun' they meant. She tightened her grip on her gunblade and noted Kayden doing the same.

"They're SeeD kids. We don't want to fuck with SeeD! Better we kill them, before they kill us."

"There's only two."

"I've seen them fight. Two's enough compared to us. Did you see what that group did to the others! They slaughtered them. I say we get revenge."

"Why not have fun with them?'

"Because we're not like you." The first answered. "Besides, they'd kill us if we got that close."

"Eight against two or rather six against one?"

A spray of bullets embedded in one of the soldiers, and brought him crashing to the ground, bleeding from a spot directly between his stunned eyes.

"Good hit." Kayden approved. "I was getting tired of his form of fun!"

Ryu nodded in agreement.

"You fucking brat! I'll kill you." The obvious leader of the men exploded and without a thought charged with his team of four following him. Ryu took several more shots and then backed away, slipping behind the ready gunbladers, to offer them whatever protection he could.

There was not a moment to think, as the enemy charged towards; what they thought had been a lone SeeD and encountered an unexpected group. When they rounded the corner, both she and Kayden charged back, and, temporarily surprised, the group of soldiers was slow to react. Kaidia ran forward and sliced completely through one of the soldiers; his blood stretched out following the arc of her sword completely through her first target. Kayden completed the second part of the surprise attack and brought down the second closest of their enemies. His blood speared upwards and nearly coated her in a fresh wave. 'How much blood has spilt on me today?' She wondered to herself. 'How much more will it be?'

From the corner of her eye, she caught a motion and, half turning she swung her sword upwards and caught the spinning dagger just before it hit her back. They were trained; maybe better than she and Kayden, and the three that were left had the experience of fighting humans that she and her team did not have. As the cadets learned as they fought, the elders seemed to almost taunt them with their dodges.

"These ones are young boss!" One yelled mockingly. "Look at the cute one!"

She was going to get that one; no one, other than Kayden, was allowed to call her cute.

"They must be cadets! They're uniforms are different!" The one that answered to 'Boss' stated. "This could be fun. Aim to disarm only. The Commander will want them."

'How the hell did they know that?' Kaidia wondered to herself.

Beside her, Kayden was not having much success in holding off the two that were cornering him. Every motion he made, it was effectively blocked by the two, making him useless at the moment. If he let down his guard to cast magic, they would succeed in disarming him. All he could do at the moment was parry their taunting attacks.

"Give it up, Kid. You won't win." One near Kayden stated.

"Try me." He retorted angrily.

"You're not even a SeeD, little boy. You can't win."

Concentrating for a moment, she looked for an offensive spell she could use to deal with the one soldier who had backed away and was now targeting her with daggers at long range. He seemed to know that if he kept her at a distance, then her primary weapon was useless. He also seemed to know that if she made a move to grab a dagger, it would give him ample opportunity to harm her directly. He threw another dagger and she barely ducked its path, having it embed in the wall above her head. She barely missed contact the third weapon; quickly blocking with her blade once more. The tremor she felt due to the contact told her how close it had been and how fast the dagger had been traveling. Her enemy was tiring of trying to aim for an extremity and was now aiming to kill. If he continued to fire daggers at her, sooner or later he was bound to get a lucky shot that she would not be able to dodge.

Behind her, one of the soldiers who was on Kayden fell, due to Ryu. The dark-blond had been stalking around in the background, waiting until a clear shot. Having been freed from one enemy, Kayden surged forward and began a full out war with the lone man standing. Kaidia fainted backwards to miss the dagger that had been thrown at her head, and after a moment she ran into a spell that she was not looking for; one that would do no good in this situation, Quake. She dodged again and finally located a stronger striking spell. Quake would likely bring down the cave, with them in it.

She changed suddenly; flowing with the magic inside of her, and charged directly towards the surprised older man, with one spell focusing in her mind. All instinct said to gain the advantage by closing in, and dodging the shaky last dagger, she summoned one of her strongest level spells. A darkened cloud began to form above the shocked man's head and before he could guess on what was happening a single large lightening strike erupted from the inter-dimensional space above the cloud and hit him directly, sending slight shockwaves out several feet around him as the powerful thundaga spell wove out of existence.

The soldier, unprepared for the attack, barely dodged out of the descent of her gunblade, catching it with a longer curved sword of his own. He raised it, groggily over his head, stunned as the spell sapped at his strength and left him trembling as the electricity blasted through his defenceless body and left him prone to attack.

Kaidia leapt sideways to avoid the descent of the katana, and spun in a circle, using the momentum to carry her sword swing towards the shocked man. He barely rolled under the attack, and stumbled up to his feet, trying to regain his balance as she did not give him a moment's peace to recover. This man had tried to kill her, and would if she let him have the time he needed to get his head, he would finish her. She needed to finish him first.

He fainted out of her attack once more, blocking the brunt of the edge of the gunblade with his own sword. He stood and tried to force her backwards, by attempting to push upwards on her own sword. This was not an ideal situation; he was stronger in the upper body, and would eventually force her to release the weapon. She could see him beginning to smirk as his strength alone began to raise her sword above.

Without thinking about it, she dropped her weapon, and with it she too dropped to the ground and spun her leg out in a half circle ahead of her and kicked the legs out of the man that was taunting her with his laughter. He stumbled and fell at the speed of the attack and before he could to anything she rolled backwards and retrieved her weapon from the ground. He was just on his feet as she charged in once more.

She swiped him to the left, and he barely met her sword charging in from the right with his raised one. The expression on his face had changed; shifting from one of extreme confidence to one of slight panic. He was not sure, now, how much talent she had. Kaidia was smart enough to know that most that saw her did not think she was an experienced fighter, let alone how to fight at all, and that misjudge of her abilities is what made her such a dangerous opponent.

The strength in her double handed attack succeeded in knocking him backwards by several feet, and, before he could recover for another attack, she switched the angle of her sword. Just as the sword had swung left and upwards, it now descended upon his unprotected side and before anything could stop the powerful weapon, she embedded it in him and triggered directly into his stomach. Following through with the movement, the sword swung further into his armoured body and came to a stop. He stared shocked down at the gunblade embedded inside him, as if he could not believe he had been bested by a child, and when the light began to darken in his eyes, he coughed and a spray of dark blood erupted from his mouth and hit her in the face. Then he fell forward, dead, and with the added weight on her, he nearly took her down with him.

* * *

Kayden circled the final member of the team, moved to the left and guarded Ryu for a moment as he slipped forward to the mouth of their arena and to observe the last of the troops guarding their downed leader. When the boy was clear of the furious man's attack, he dove back into the battle; twisting sideways to avoid his answering attack with the sharp reaper-like weapon. Kayden had barely dodged that attack, and when he tried to swipe his gunblade left, it was met with the placed blade of the one he was duelling with. The man smirked into his face, showing a large amount of confidence for one about to die. At least Kayden hoped so.

The young male fainted left with his weapon, diving forward and then, at the last moment, circling backwards and swinging towards the right. He came out of the spin, but his try at the man had only met the amused man's sword instead. 'Hyne he's fast!' Kayden mentally complained. 'Why not slow him down!' his thought continued.

He needed a moment to find the spell; it always took him a second longer to locate the magic he wanted then it did his girlfriend. But he would cope with that now that he had a plan. If he could not outmatch him and the man was more skilled than he, then why not just trick him. It was cheap, but right now he would take cheap over an actual win. Especially as this man was way more experienced than he was.

Without waiting, Kayden began to sort through his barrage of stocked magic until he came across the spell he wished; sleep. He summoned the familiar energy to the forefront of his mind to prepare for the next action.

Kayden dropped that attack and jumped backwards to dodge the enemy's next assault, but from where he landed he caught the descending blade with his own and forced it upwards. With all the force he could call to him, and the momentum he had gained by swinging the gunblade upwards to catch the descending sword, both weapons were ripped from their wielders hands and both circled in a arc above the surprised fighter's head and fell, one striking the wall and his embedding into the floor of the cave.

Without waiting, he called the energy out and directed it at the man. The familiar sheen of golden stars circled his frame for a moment before diving forward and wrapping their confusing lights around his enemy. The stars exploded into a brilliant sheen of white and not a second later the man dropped where he was standing, and lay in restful slumber.

This was his choice, for when the man rested unaware of what was occurring around him, they could escape and he would have no knowledge of it. Also, when asleep, the more experienced fighter could not use an item or a spell to cancel the effects and he would only awaken when found by one of his team or by theirs.

He might not awaken at all, the boy realized. There were Anacondaurs and other scavengers circling around the dim caves, and they would certainly not ignore the chance of a free and easy meal.

The order to withdraw took precedence over everything else. If he couldn't kill him quickly then he had to get around him. Kayden stared down at his adversary, and Kaidia approached to his left. Without thought, both went to flank Ryu for the last assault.

"They're dead." Ryu announced, shakily. "I killed them. They were holding a dagger to Suzu's neck. The last one injected him with something from a needle, before I could kill him."

* * *

Kaidia nodded, and slipped around the boy to check on their leader. Something was wrong with this… every section of her being told her that the something horrible she had feared since before the SeeD exam had just begun.

As she approached him, Suzu raised his shocked features to her. Blood was dripping down from his nose and mouth, but the most frightening was the look in his eye. The entire ball of was a brilliant red, and it leaked out in tears that ran down his face, even has more blood fell from his ears. Suzu opened his mouth to scream and out of his mouth shot his darkened tongue and streamers of vile smelling blood.

Kaidia gagged at the smell and was barely able to swallow the disgusting mixture in response. Behind her, Ryu was not as lucky he sank to his knees and was nosily sick on the ground ahead of him.

She looked back, being drawn by his shrieks that could no longer form words; screams for the pain to end, to stop the horror that was his destroying his body and left no peace for his mind.

"Ryu… try items. Kay… magic…" she requested in short spurts; the sickening stench of the living decaying body breaking through her control. She tried to take a breath to calm herself, but it was too much and she retched to the ground next to her, shaking as the contents of her stomach exited to the floor.

'_Bast, have you seen anything like this?'_

'…_No Child…' _Even as her pet was not present she could sense his distress and disgust. _'Not in all my years…'_

'_Is there nothing that can be done?'_

To her side, Ryu tried recovery items; all the forms of potions they had on them. It did nothing to lessen the effects of the disease eating the boy alive. While Kayden constantly cast his strongest curative magic, using up several Curaga's in an effort to stop the devastating disease.

Ryu then tried to curb the flow with status items, throwing an antidote, pouring it all over the dying boy's body, and finally their only remedy. There was no change in the progression of the menacing infection. As it ate away at Suzu's skin and internal organs, blood and other matter leaking out from the open cavities on his body, bleeding out as the disease ate away at him.

Kayden, in desperation switched to his last spell, and when the lights of Esuna died, there was nothing changed. Suzu's screams echoed through the cave and haunted all that listened who could not help. They were out of options. Kaidia did not have any other curative spell that Kayden did not have, and it felt as if hours had passed, but only seconds had, listening to his screams.

Down his body, his skin sank into itself as whatever was in the needle ate away at every section of his body. He reached, as if to touch her, begging for mercy from every hurt that was inflicted on his body. His arm as it left the ground, left skin and muscle, all that was reaching up to her was the dead arm of a skeleton. White fingers flickered in the light, as the skin fell off in a liquid mixture of death. He screamed louder and she flinched internally, as the image burned into her brain.

'_There is something, Child…you know what I speak of. Do what you think is right.'_

'_It will kill him…'_

'_Mercy would not kill him; rather save him from suffering more. What do you think he wants?' _Bast finally whispered in her mind.

She stared down at him, taking in his shrunken appearance, due to the infection. Then she looked right to his face and into his red eyes and she could see the plea as clearly as if he had spoken it. 'Help me…' it yelled in his eyes. 'Let this end. Please make it stop hurting.'

No one had been around to help her stop hurting when she needed them, and when seeing the same plea come from another's eyes, she chose what she thought was right.

A shimmer surrounded her; calling forth from her outstretched hand, and golden stars erupted surrounding the fallen fighter, and exploded out. She had not remembered even thinking as she summoned the spell, as the stars cleared from her vision and before Suzu closed his eyes for the last time, she saw gratitude echo from his red gaze, and then he closed his eyes in peaceful rest. For the rest, there would be no peace from the images and the nightmares that this would bring. It would be something that would haunt her for the rest of her life.


	8. Chapter 8

Suzu lay asleep, unaware as the infection had murdered what was left of his body. When it was finally over, just skin over bones existed. All else had been destroyed by a monster so small that no one could fight against it, but more potent than anything she had seen. She retched again, tears that had been building for years desperately wishing to finally fall. Horror and disgust at what she had just witnessed and done, eating away at her. She had killed a human before him, but this was someone she knew in Garden. 'Had known…' she mentally corrected.

They had been trainees together; had fought in the same training center, had visited the same library and maybe read the same books. Had slept in the same type of dorm rooms and woken from sleep and had gone to the cafeteria and to classes. Had played on the basketball courts, and on the ice rink, had known the same instructors, the Headmaster and the Commander. Had been trained in Galbadia Garden together for years, and now he was gone. She had tied her hand to his death.

She had not killed him, not by a long shot. But by her casting that spell, she had cast herself into the issues surrounding the murky reign of manslaughter. What if something could have worked, given time, not that he had had much left. What if someone else with stronger magic could have stopped the infection? What if he didn't have to die? By her casting sleep on the dying boy, she had assured his death.

'I killed a classmate.'

'_You helped him, love. You did what either Kayden or Ryu could not. You saved him from pain, and that is a great gift.'_

'_It's not going to be seen like that.'_

'_And we will face it as it comes. Some will see it as you did. Others will argue. But it is not your fault what happened. You did all you could and more.'_

'_It…it hurts…'_

'_I will not leave…' _Bast promised and receded into her mind, but kept the soothing contact up. _'Remember, I am waiting always for you.'_

'_I…don't know…I don't…'_

'_Shhhhh.'_

That contact was the only thing that made it possible for her not to cry over what happened and give up right then. It prevented her from surrendering to both the enemies and to her own emotions. She had to move on. The boys were counting on her.

Kayden looked almost lost in his mind, as if he was mentally searching for anything else he could have possibly done to help the boy before he died. Ryu looked so scared and terrified he gazed at her from where he sat. Both did actually. In their eyes, there was no blame. Kayden and Ryu supported her and approved of her decision to help him when they could not. She knew they would stand with her, and face what she did as a team.

They were children, but not anymore. All three had seen something that scarred them a little more, and now whatever was left of their innocence and their childhood had been destroyed. All three were ones that had seen the worst of human nature taken out on another, and had been so close to have stopped it but so far away that it still occurred. The boys were wondering the same thing she was, Kaidia realized, sharing the same guilt for not being there sooner and the same guilt for surviving what he had not. They were alive, but one of their own was not, and his death would never leave her mind; to the end of her days she would always remember the devastating horror of what had been done to Suzu. It was for him, that she had to succeed, and get her friends out; to tell what had happened in the cavern, so that none would forget the pain.

'I have to do something… neither Kayden or Ryu are capable of taking control at the moment… and we have to get out of here.' She realized. 'But what am I supposed to do? Think.'

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in their situation and what was left of it, who was left and what strengths and weaknesses existed in the team. Ryu, at the moment, was still a weakness, and as he wept over what he had witnessed she realized that he was not a SeeD and not even a Cadet at the moment; he was a confused and scared boy; a civilian, but she could not exactly afford to treat him as such. He would be useless in attacks and defence… but he could carry something.

Kayden was physically stronger than herself, but she was the faster at drawing and using magic, as well as quicker at dodging and evading. 'Not much to work with; two badly shaken gunblade specialists and a nearly useless fire-arms specialist. Better than nothing.' She mused. 'Something has to be done to re-establish a command order, or we'll all panic.'

She turned her thoughts to the body in front of her, looking down, and swallowing her disgust, before it spewed forth out of her body once more. This could not go without investigation, and as far as she could assume, without the communicator, which Suzu had and which she sure as hell was not touching; no other team had met with this infection. So it was up to them to bring a sample to Garden.

The infection had not eaten through the soaked clothes, nor had it destroyed the weapons that had been held within them. The communicator device as well the locater machine appeared to be in working order; soaked with blood and the infection, but had not been damaged in any way. This proved to her that whatever it was that had killed Suzu only worked on living material, not metals, and if metals and the cotton of the uniform were not affected by the disease, then it stood to reason that glass, too, was safe.

"Kayden? Empty a potion bottle. Get it as clean as possible and hand it to me. Make sure there isn't a crack on the bottle."

He nodded slowly and, after a moment, had finished the task she set. He handed her the sparkling clean bottle and she inspected it carefully, looking for any minute cracks that had damaged the bottle. The glass was hard to break, but under extreme circumstances it was known to happen. Rumour had it that the product used in potion bottles really was a harder substance then glass, but it was anyone's guess on what it was. But right now she needed the reassurance of looking over the glass bottle.

"Do you have that door picking set with you? I need the small suction instrument." She knew the name but at the moment had decided not to complicate things and confuse both boys standing with her. The device she needed was almost like a pipette, it had an end that you could squeeze to create a vacuum in the open end to pull up minute objects or liquids. It would hold the substance in a vacuum until she released her grip from the top part. Simple but at the moment the best chance she had to get a sample. 'Clear and concise instructions; they're both too shaken to think clearly. Then again, so am I.'

He nodded again and handed her the instrument she needed. She studied it carefully, looking for how to pull this off. Just one squeeze would give enough of a sample for the labs to study.

"Give Ryu the locater device and show him how to use it." She requested once more.

This would take all of her concentration; enough to steady her shaking hands and not spill the sickly liquid on herself or down the bottle. Kaidia was shaky enough and did not need their eyes on her to make her more nervous. With a deep breath, she stood up and waited until her balance settled and her heart was beating normally before slowly approaching the body.

'The body! Just a few minutes ago, he was alive and now he's a body! Hyne, what is this all about? He was alive not too long ago, and now he's dead… now he's a body, and only Kay, Ryu and myself know what happened! Calm down. Getting upset is not going to help the others. I have to do this; to make sure that no one else gets hurt with this stuff. This killer.'

With a deep breath, she leaned down, standing just out of the puddle of human remains and reached over. Her hand was rock steady as she squeezed the top of the instrument meant for removing minute shards of metal and glass from the door lock, which now pulled up a small sample of blood from within his gaping mouth. Her hand did not shake, but Kaidia could feel herself trembling internally throughout the ordeal.

Retreating a few steps, she checked herself over carefully before sitting down on the ground, far enough away from the boys that if she made a mistake they would not be affected by it. If she spilt it on herself, then they would be out of the range of her blood as she died too. '…If….' She thought to herself.

Taking another breath, she steadied herself once more with a gentle motion unleashed the reddish liquid into the empty bottle, slowly trickling the infected liquid down the internal side of the bottle so that it would not fall directly and cause some to spill that way. Then it was over and Kaidia sealed the bottle with the air tight lid, pressing it on evenly and sealing the contents inside. She stayed still a moment longer, giving herself time to calm down once more.

She then took out a clean cloth from her pocket, which was originally meant to clean her daggers or her gunblade, but would now serve a different purpose; as a cushion for the precious bottle. If this infection was unleashed in public without an effective antidote, it could destroy everything. Something had to be done to ensure that it would not occur.

She wrapped the bottle tight in the cloth and when done with, that she dropped the small instrument she used to get the sample, near Suzu's empty body before walking completely away and heading up to the boys.

Kayden was patiently explaining how to use the device to the shocked boy.

"We have to move out." Kaidia announced when she was close enough.

"I know…' Kayden answered.

"Ryu. I need you to carry this. It's a sample of whatever killed Suzu."

He twitched and stared up at her with disbelieving eyes before switching his gaze down to the bottle she was holding; staring at it as if it were the deadliest poison he had ever seen. She didn't disagree with him on that notion. The shaken fire-arms specialist shook his head violently.

"We need to get a sample of this to Garden. It could be unleashed on civilians or even in Garden and many more people could die. Whatever this stuff is, it doesn't eat through non – living materials. Glass and the cloth are safe. I wouldn't give it to you if I thought it was too dangerous. I need your help."

"Do… you trust it?" Ryu asked hesitantly.

"Yes." She answered simply, wondering why her answer was so important to the boy.

"…I'll…I'll do it." He answered.

She nodded slowly to him. "I also need you to keep an eye on our location and guide our way out."

He nodded to her request.

"The order will be Kayden first, then you and finally myself." Kaidia decided. 'Hopefully that will work. It's the best order I can think of at the moment.'

"Why that way?" Ryu asked, staring up at her.

It was working, whatever she was doing. Ryu was focused on her and her orders instead of his panic. Kayden had managed to bring his mind back to the current situation and was listening to her directions. Both were completely focused on the mission she was giving herself and them to complete. 'SeeD's are determined on completing the objective. They've both had that drilled into them and that's the only thing keeping them…and me, calm. We can freak out later when we're not in danger…but for now… how did I end up the leader!'

'_Those that are meant to lead will take charge if need be…' _Bast answered. _'For the good of the group. You'll be fine.'_

"Kayden's stronger then me; better at heading off a direct assault, you are the one we protect and are between us." She explained to Ryu. "Don't worry about defending yourself in a physical attack, fall back behind Kayden and myself. He and I'll take turns casting defensive magic on you. We will handle whatever comes. I am last because I'm faster with magic as well as evasion of a surprise attack. This time, we stick together, no great distances between us."

Both males slipped ahead of her, and she turned her gaze onto Ryu as he glanced down at the small one handed device, carefully balancing the infection and the locater device at the same moment. That action concerned her, so she stepped in once more.

"At the moment, speed doesn't matter. Garden's been watching us and they know what happened and what we're carrying. We have to get out of here without endangering Ryu or the sample. Ryu, don't put yourself in danger by trying to hold both the sample as well as the other device. Carry it, or secure it on your waist; whatever you feel comfortable with, but don't carry both at the same time. Have the locater in your pocket until we reach a divide and then we stop for you to look to find our next course. They will wait for us and hopefully bring in assistance for us. Which way?" She asked Ryu.

He nodded almost to himself and looked down at the machine he was holding. "It's right from here, and at the first divide we head straight." He answered. "But what about the body?"

"There isn't much we can do about that." Kayden answered. "We can't bring it with us or burn it."

"Why not?" Ryu asked.

"Burning it may cause the pathogen to become airborne. We have to leave it. Garden will send in a team to deal with it." The taller blond reassured the smaller.

"Alright." Ryu answered, not sounding completely satisfied.

Kaidia nodded and waited for the dirty-blonde haired boy to place the device into his cotton pocket and for him to prepare. With that, she reached into her mind and summoned the first spell. A blue barrier appeared between the dark-blond haired boy and the other two. The shield solidified and then turned invisible. Then, Ryu pulled from his mind a second spell, blocking the effects of all magic from him. The shell spell echoed around the protect spell and reinforced the luminous barrier.

"Let's move out." She ordered simply. "Ryu, you set the pace at what you're comfortable with."

Both Kayden and Ryu nodded once more at the direction. Kayden started off, and a moment later Ryu followed, walking slowly for the moment as if he was trying to get used to the idea of carrying the dangerous sample with him, trying not to jar it in anyway. Kayden slowed down to match the pace set by the middle most cadet, and the two only walked with a few steps between them; she was the last to leave. Before she left the cavern, her eyes flickered back to the dead boy once more. 'He's in the past now.'

Kaidia quickly slipped into a position only a few feet behind the dark-blonde haired boy and the team finally left the area where their leader lay in death.

They turned in the direction that was specified by the boy in the middle and continued over the still sleeping body of the man Kayden had left alone. The group walked at a normal pace down the hall.

Kaidia watched as the darkness continued and pressed them deeper into its dark. She now wondered if there was any escape from the hell that they had just descended from. How much of this moment would come back to haunt her in nightmares that left her shaking in the dead of night? How many nights would she be forced to watch her companion die in front of her as her weary mind threw images of her past at her?

Not that she needed any new images to traumatize her; she carried enough. From before Garden. It was those that she hid from the most, from the pain, consciously inflicted upon her by her 'parents,' for every hit and cruel word they said to her, when they deemed she was not good enough, and for them, she would prove her worth as a SeeD, and show them that what they did would not rule her. But it was not worth thinking about now; there were other things to be done first.

A second feeling dawned upon her at that moment. As strong as the first prophetic warning, which had half convinced Kaidia from the outset, that something horrible would occur in the exam that would change her forever. Now this feeling plainly stated that her role in this had not ended, and that this decision she had made had started something so powerful, something which she was caught up in from before she could remember. Her path would be long and hard.

She took a breath, waiting patiently as Ryu stated their next three turns as right twice and then left, and they walked onwards through the deep dark of the cave. As the young boy gained confidence their pace slowly increased, not that she would allow them to run though. With the encounter they had with the experienced military officers and what they had with them, it was smarter to keep moving in a steady but controlled rhythm. At every corner, Kayden would stop the group and investigate around the divide, looking for enemies. This was not the time to be stumbling into something.


	9. Chapter 9

Through the oppressive darkness, the group of three walked on. Ryu had slowly increased the pace until he was heading at a brisk walk, but nothing further. Even if he felt confident enough to run, Kaidia would have called a halt. By running, they risked him stumbling over an unseen crevice in the rock and falling with the sample; which could lead to his infection and possibly all of them becoming sick with the same exposure.

It was a horrible death; slow and incredibly painful. Suzu's flesh and internal organs had been virtually eaten away, decaying as he still lived as the devastating sample began to kill him. It was like watching the natural decomposition process of a human body or any living body speeded up until it occurred in a matter of minutes, while the person was still alive.

Kaidia knew that people who would create such an infection to use against a fellow human existed and drew great pleasure from their work. She knew that there were people in this world that delighted in making others suffer, but she had never expected to see something that horrible come from another human. To have one capable of killing another in such a fashion, it almost made what she had done to those innocent runners seem somehow less drastic.

She had killed untrained men, but they were a part of an army that wished to spread this _thing_ to the populous of Dollet and possibly to the outside country and maybe even the world. They may have not had much training with weapons, but they had joined up with the unknown forces and had learned that they were to assist with potentially capturing the surrender of an innocent state, leaving many deaths in the process. 'But they believed in what they were doing.' She argued mentally. 'They thought they were right and we were the enemy to them. Light and dark; right and wrong. Which side are we? Which side am I on? SeeD wouldn't create a substance like that, and we definitely wouldn't use it on our enemies, even if we had it.'

The group slowed once more, at a forked section of the path, with a possible exit of four different directions from where they stood. Ryu and Kaidia drifted back a few steps, allowing Kayden the time to investigate their surroundings to get a sense if any enemies existed on either path. He took his time carefully investigating all four, probably wondering if there were any creatures that may be in hiding, ready to ambush their prey, or just have a strong enough sense of smell to track them down no matter what the path they took.

He drifted slowly up to the furthest right one, and quickly slipped back to the group, a slight frown marring his features. She guessed that that path was blocked by something he did not wish to encounter. Not that an encounter with any form of enemy was wise at the moment, when their Squad only had two fighters to begin with. They could not afford any mistake, and it would definitely be wiser to avoid the monsters, if possible.

"Ryu?" She addressed the boy she was guarding.

"It's the path furthest right."

'Of course it is… I have horrible luck which has transferred to the entire group.' She thought to herself just as Kayden sighed.

"There's four Geezards that way, right in the middle of the path. We'd have to fight them to get through."

"Is there another way?" Kaidia asked. 'Geezards and Anacondaurs? What the hell...'

Ryu glanced back down at the machine he was holding. It had been determined earlier, mostly by her and her cautiousness that it was not a wise idea to try to force the boy to balance both the machine and the sample in his hands, not at the same moment. He had wisely secured the sample onto a buckle on his belt attached to his waist, making sure that the contents within did not spill. It was safer; avoiding the accidental fumble that might have occurred. Kaidia did not want to place the nervous shot gun specialist in any more danger than what he already was, and was grateful he had taken her advice.

She saw him frown at the device, as if mentally blaming it for whatever it was showing him as he traced their path out on another route from their present location. Kohana could tell, and mainly because she was almost sure she heard Hyne laughing at her, that their only option was the right hand path. She immediately did not like the direction this was heading, because it would lead them right into the pack of Geezards.

"The middle path, I mean the second right, leads to a dead end a few turns in; and even if we follow it we'd end up too far from the exit; it tends to lead up." Ryu reported to her. "The furthest two left would lead us right into one of the larger groups of the soldiers."

"Wonderful… just wonderful…" Kayden muttered to himself. "Only one option then."

Kaidia nodded to that statement. "Ryu, you stay back behind the two of us. Don't worry about what happens, just keep behind us. Kayden and I can handle a pack of Geezards. Which way after that?"

"We stay straight then take the right most path again."

Both SeeD candidates nodded and slipped ahead of the boy. A moment later Kaidia summoned forth a second protect spell and placed it on the boy. Every instinct had told the small cadet that the first spells' effects were beginning to vanish; and the last thing she needed to worry about was Ryu's vulnerability at the moment. As she left the scene, their long range fighter completed the protective bubble by replacing his Shell spell. She then slipped ahead to join Kayden at the mouth of the cave, with Ryu standing a few steps behind her.

* * *

Kayden was the first to reach the mouth of the cave, and he returned to observing the enemy lizard like creatures. Not a few seconds later his attention was half diverted as his girlfriend slipped to his side and moved to opposite section of the wall, observing as well.

The Geezards had a dark brownish tone with shimmers of red donning the top of their bodies. Their extended claws that ended in almost pincer like toes on either side of their head, were made up of two sections, a lower one that sat almost on the ground and a second one that would close in on an enemy and pin them between the first so that the creature could eat in peace, or just take a bite from their prey. Running along the pincers their colour changed to more of a tough scaly grey tone donning the lower section of their bodies and striped in a layer to protect the back of their head from attack. The scales protected their defenceless stomachs from attack, since the monsters constantly dragged their way across the rough rocked-ground.

Their long tails waved and curled on the grounds, sending slight noise vibrations to the group of fighters. That was how the creatures communicated with each other; using the vibrations of their tails on the ground to send a message to the sensitive tails of the others surrounding it. The message would then travel up their nerve system and be interpreted by their lizard like brain.

They had nightmarish faces, almost like a distorted and badly mangled human face. They had curved and angled glowing yellow eyes that looked like fire embers had been embedded in their skulls. They did not seem to have any pupil to their dangerous eyes. Their nose ended above their wickedly grinning mouth, and resembled more a human nose, but it was less useful for this creature to use then it was for a human. The mouth was full of sharp cutting teeth and when open the full extent of the mouth rounded almost completely around the creatures face, so that the lizard could nearly dislocate their lower jaw to swallow a larger prey whole.

There were only four, not a large number, and one that Kayden and Kaidia could deal with together. But as it stood, they were not interested in encountering any monster, even if it were ones they could easily defeat.

Kayden caught the girl's eye. Geezards were slow creatures, needing time to react to a situation, and these ones were sitting with no clue that they were being watched from an opening of the cave. They lacked that fast reaction time of the Funguars or the Anacondaurs, but when there were enough of them in a group, they could surround an enemy and inflict some harm. Both he and Kaidia agreed that charging the creatures and surprising them would be the best plan. 'Deal with them quickly and efficiently and then get away from this location. We have to get out soon.'

Without waiting, the tallest boy held up a hand, and began to slowly count down with it, folding every finger down over his thumb, and as it got to one the attack began. He charged forth and right into the pack of the surprised lizards, who were slow to react. As they were just moving into an attack, he blocked the one that flew up at him, and knocked it back to the ground with a practiced flip of his sword. The creature flew backwards at the momentum and landed on the third, which hissed in anger at the first and began to bite at its companion. There was a shriek that answered its bite as the mouth found a section of unprotected skin and drew blood. Kayden winced at the sound and hoped to everything that the noise would not alert their enemy to their location.

He stalked the last one standing and dodged its desperate grasp at his leg, but not quite missed the second set of the creatures' pincers. It clamped onto his leg and dove in to bite a section away, the creatures mouth widening to its' full out grin as it prepared for a snack. To block its quick attack Kayden thrust his Gunblade down and right through its head before it could come too close to him. As he pushed his sword through its scaly head, he triggered into its skull and the bullet ripped the length of the sword, gaining momentum before continuing its course down through the creatures opened skull and into its head.

Kayden looked to see where his companion was. She had hung back and was diverting the last and only free Geezard's attention away from the way they had come. It had charged at her, he had seen from his side and she had to jump back in order to keep herself between Ryu and the angry lizard. He watched for only a moment longer before busying himself with the last two. Kaidia would hold her location, and when she was finished with the one she was challenging she would approach slowly, keeping herself between their enemies and the boy they were both protecting. Her speed made it more likely that she could stop an attack on Ryu before it came.

Kayden stepped forward slowly, the two were battling now; one angry that its companion had 'attacked' it instead of the enemy and the second angry that the first had bit it for no reason. He approached warily, and as he stepped within range of their flashing tails they both turned on him, flying almost at the same moment. He instinctively dropped to miss the attack. They whirled on him, now cornered between the two fighters. Kaidia approached from behind the lizards' backs and the fight was joined.

The one nearest to him slithered quickly towards him, intent on tripping him with its long body and to bring him to the ground, where it would have the advantage of being able to pin him. Kayden was ready for this tactic; having it used on him, effectively, before. As the creature rolled towards him, he side-stepped it and brought his gunblade crashing down on the creatures' harsh back, the momentum caused a cut, but little damage to the irate creature.

Hissing in rage, the red lizard moved once more, this time, in an attempt to regain its balance and approach its target once more. Before the heavy monster could regain its footing, Kayden moved from behind, avoiding its whipping tail with a practiced dodge. He brought the full force of his blade down on the lizards' vulnerable neck and severed its head from its spine. The creature gave one final twitch as it lay dead, its nerve ending reacting to the lack of stimuli.

Kayden then turned to check on Kaidia; to see if she needed assistance. As he turned, he caught the motion of the last Geezard flying right at the girl's face. Without changing expression, she flicked her gunblade downwards and met the lizards charge. Knocking the lizard down to the ground and stumbling slightly to regain her balance, she efficiently finished her attack by bringing the brunt of the weapon downwards into the shocked monsters' unprotected side and triggered into its twitching body. A moment later, it lay dead at her feet.

Without waiting a moment, she pulled her blade free of its host and sheathed the weapon back and the two stood and began to remove the bodies to a less obvious section of the cave. Ryu approached cautiously and as quickly and quietly they walked past the place of attack and continued on their way, without a word between them.

Heading straight down the tunnel into the darkness; Kay personally wondered when the night would end.

Speed, in this case, was not as important as safety and, despite the order to withdraw demanding their quick reaction and even quicker withdrawal of their posts; speed did not matter. What they were carrying did, he realized. Speed had been forgotten by the now weaker Squad, in place of a cautious escape that did not risk any more than was necessary to obtain the sample and deliver it to Garden representatives for further study.

Garden had to have seen what occurred, and knew what they had with them. Because Suzu had the only communications device, it was now impossible to contact anyone for help and it was just as impossible for them to be contacted. All had seen what happened to Suzu when the infection had been injected into them, and he had seen exactly what had covered the phone.

The destruction of Suzu's body had caused his bladder to explode and the contents drained out and onto the available cloth of his uniform as well as what was around his waist. With the infection covering the device and no way of sanitizing it, there was not much reason to try to take it with them. Not for the chance that trying to use the cell phone to contact their superiors would most likely infect a second member of the team. They still had a locater device, and they could just use that as a way out.

Kayden had tried to lock down his feelings on Suzu's death, now feeling guilty that he had judged him so harshly for his nervous orders to the group. There was more to life then following orders, much more, and Suzu had done as best as he could, in that situation. But now, because of his panic, he was dead, and nothing would change that.

'Maybe if I had dealt with that man faster, he would have lived. If I had gotten there faster and had gotten to the last two before they could inject him… Stop it! Maybes don't matter anymore; its fact what happened and me wondering about maybes won't change that.'

He had a mission; a goal and he couldn't afford to dwell on the anger, the pain, the frustration of not being able to help their fallen team mate. He had to protect Ryu and help deliver the sample to Garden. Then he could feel all the emotions he was bottling up, after it was over. 'And no matter what they decide, I didn't do anything to stop her, so I tie my hands with Kaidia's decision. Whatever is decided, I'll be there for her.'

He shook his head to regain his focus, and a slight noise drifted to his ears. Kaidia was looking behind her, having stopped and turned back to see. It came again, the echo, and his eyes widened as he identified the sound, footsteps.

They had just gone down another right hand path, heading towards the base of the mountain; close so close to their salvation. There was only a few more turns left; Ryu had told them just after their fight, and then they'd be out and among their elders from Garden.

He watched as she took a step back, waving them on; telling them to keep moving and forget her. She had been spotted by something and did not want to risk her team. By the flickers of emotions that darted across her eyes, she knew she would not survive this encounter if she gave in to the approaching people. She would give herself over to them to give them time to escape and get the sample to Garden. She was willing to offer her life to save everyone else and there was nothing he could do about it.

"There's one, boys! Get her and bring her to the Commander!"

She waved them away once more and Kayden took a breath, squeezing his eyes shut and gestured for Ryu to follow him. Ryu tore his eyes from the girl and forced himself onwards.

Kayden and Ryu darted as fast as possible down the tunnel. Moving as rapidly as they could without upsetting the precious bottle they held, one that would cost two members of their Squad to bring out. He knew why Kaidia had made that choice, and knew that as a SeeD that situation was bound to come up where he would have to abandon her or someone else he cared for to complete the mission. He ground his teeth as he moved on. His emotions tumbling over themselves as he forced himself away from the side of the only girl he could see himself loving.

Then, on a sense, he unsheathed his gunblade. Some instinct had warned him that something lay ahead. He motioned Ryu behind him to stop, and cautiously moved ahead. Before he really knew what was happening, a large number of Galbadian SeeDs and a few Dollet soldiers had surrounded him, each with weapons drawn. Kayden blinked once more to make sure they were still there and not some form of hopeful mirage. There were at least forty of them; as far as he could tell.

"It's them!" A tall brown haired male spoke as he stopped at the group. "Where's the girl? We were ordered to find the rest of Squad A and draw out with them."

"She stayed behind, in the large chasm just behind us, to head off the approach of enemy soldiers, Sir." Kayden answered.

The man he addressed nodded. "Teams A through C move out and destroy the enemy. Team D, divide yourselves and half of you pull out with Cadet Dos Santos. Bring her back safely." At this, his men and the team divided and only a few stayed behind; the one that was commanding them included.

"Where's the sample?" He continued when he was done ordering his troops.

"I have it." Ryu answered.

"Good job. Chelsea, Huan, Derrick, Zia, Vaughn. Get the Cadets out of here."

"Yes, Sir." The ones called responded and moved to circle the group, while the ones that were still with their section leader drifted to him and ran off to join the fight.

"May I have the sample?" A girl asked, directed at Ryu. "I have the proper means of securing it, although you didn't do such a bad job yourselves."

Ryu nodded, and gently handed the small bottle over to the girl.

The light-haired blonde took it carefully from Ryu who looked elated that he would not have to carry it any more and as she secured it, wrapping it up further and placing it in a case that she had with her before, she said anything more.

"That was Felix Duian, the leader of our section of the army. I'm Chelsea…" She continued, carefully wrapping the bottle down and tying it steady in the case she held.

"What about Kaidia?" Ryu asked, beating Kayden to the question.

"From what I heard, she's a resourceful girl. I'm sure she's okay. I'm done." She announced.

With that Kayden and Ryu found themselves surrounded and the small team of fighters ran with their guards, circling them from all directions, towards the exit.

* * *

She saw them walk away. Kayden giving her one last look which she returned. Not showing any of the most painful emotions, she smiled at him, preparing for a battle which would cost her life. Thankfully, her body had blocked her team mates from view and they could still continue the mission. Her death would not mean much, as long as Garden had a sample of the virus to create a vaccine. The sample had to be delivered to Garden, no matter what the personal costs.

She would not surrender to them, and would go down fighting blocking the large opening they had stumbled upon in their desperate walk to the exit. Kaidia slipped to the mouth of the cave and blocked the only way into the room. They would have to get around her before they could get to her team, and if she bought them enough time, they would not know that she had been traveling with others.

'I won't tell them anything about the others… no matter what they do.' She determined in her mind, but privately she prayed that her death would not be from that 'thing' they had created.

"There's only one!" The voice yelled again.

Before they got any closer to her, she pulled as many spells to the forefront of her mind as possible and started firing off as many as she could at her furthest range. Golden stars followed by a large clocks circling over the heads of the approaching men, using as many of her stronger status spells to thin the group as much as possible. As each was hit with a spell, she could feel her exhaustion mounting at every spell she cast. It took energy to summon up the magic, energy gathered from within to bring the spell to life, and each time she cast one it sipped her energy down further.

The men in the dark red – brown and black tunics yelled in anger as their men began to fall, due to the effects of her spells, and as they closed in, she was thankful that they did not have magic, or this fight would have already been over. There was more than fifty, an exact number Kaidia could not tell. But they kept coming, down the twisting tunnel her team had emptied from not a few minutes before.

She slipped away, moving backwards as a dagger embedded its self near the side wall she was standing on, shaking as the motion upset her balance, and the exhaustion began to creep up further. Cures healed physical wounds, but nothing could replace the energy she lost at every firing of a spell, not a spell she had at least. She reached the back wall just left of the chamber her team had gone down. Kaidia knew that her endurance was running out.

She was tired, and did not know how much more magic she could cast before her limit was overused and she collapsed. The men, pouring out of the wall, began to approach her, grinning as they did. Their dark uniforms almost blending them in with the walls around them and it was almost like the shadows walked and had their own dark purposes poured into bodies.

"Hey, beautiful." One catcalled. "Give up and we won't hurt you."

She frowned and sent a sleep spell at him. He dodged the golden sheen of stars but it didn't matter, it just took down another of his team in his place. He laughed at her efforts. The soldiers spread out in the mid sized chasm they were in, beginning to surround her slowly, their feral grins reflecting off their drawn weapons. There would be no escape for her, but at least Kayden and Ryu had gotten away. 'Maybe if I use haste and got closer to the exit.'

She stayed where she was giving no indication of her plan, but as the moments ticked by, the men continued to approach her and already there was quite a few between her and her intended path. She had to do something to clear it, or get a few of the soldiers out of the way without the entire group realizing her intent.

"Give up…we have you surrounded!" The leader proclaimed once more.

"Take her alive…"

"Yes, Sir." His men called to him.

She drew on a couple more magic spells, narrowing the number further, targeting those closer to her, and then she hit the spell she wished. Concentrating on one of the men standing closest to her path she sent a golden wave of energy at him. Above the shocked man's head a large object formed and before he had any sense on what was occurring it dropped right on him, and small golden Chocobo's circled over him. His eyes grew large and echoed with confused light.

Before he ran from her range of magic she brought forth an elemental spell. The poor man that she had picked now had a ring of fire circling him, which erupted and set him alight. He screamed in panic and as any person that suddenly finds himself on fire would do, he ran back into the crowd of his friends and the chaos continued as more felt the effects of her flames.

There wasn't a second to waste, now that their attention was diverted, haste only lasted a few seconds and that was all she needed. Drawing inside herself once more she summoned the final spell she needed and cast it upon herself. Doing the only thing she could against an army of more than fifty men, she darted past the confusion and to the opening she needed. The man's screams echoing in her ears. 'There was no other way.'

Kaidiacontinued, and only a few moments after turning down the corridor she ran head long into a group of soldiers. It took her a moment to recognize the uniforms of the SeeDs and just as she did the spell wore off and she stumbled into something and fell forward, gasping for air as she tried to pull whatever energy she had left to stand up. She sensed the majority spilling past her to the chasm she had just exited, in their time only seconds before, it was as if a dark blur had materialized in their midst. Several wore expressions of shock, having had the running blur pass by without them realizing exactly what was occurring. She too had passed them by without really seeing who they were, but the one she collided with looked up at her with amusement.

"I seem to find myself in this position a lot. Good thing Chelsea didn't see that." A short black haired male spoke.

"Sorry." She answered, slipping off of him, trying very hard not to flush in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. Cadet Dos - Santos I presume? I'm Nick Faclicon." The man she had landed on spoke again.

Kohana swallowed and nodded, finally pulling herself to her feet. "The sample, is it safe?"

"Yes. Your team is being led out right now. My team is meant to lead you out."

She nodded, understanding the soft spoken order that had been given to her, and without a moment's wait all set off in a run.

As a group of six, they slipped behind the protection of their own forces and withdrew from the nearby battle, but the enemy's dying cries echoed as they ran down the corridors, following one person. With the sound of the battle in her ears she ran with them, clutching her gunblade low to her body in case of a surprise attack. She was positioned in the center of the group; not yet being a SeeD, with two on either side of her running parallel with her, two SeeDs' behind and the one SeeD guiding their way out ahead. There were no words between any; the major concern now was to escape this cave.

They cut left harshly and then there was a slight spewing of the sun, shining down through the original entrance of the complex spider web of caves they had entered in. The lead SeeD slowed the run and in response she too slowed. They stayed in the outskirts of the cave for a moment; giving her time to adjust to that light, lest it strike her blind when they leave the cavern and she stumble then.

But it was over. This horrible exam had ended and she was still alive. She had guided herself and her team out and had secured a sample for Garden, at the cost of a team mate's life. But now he would at least have his story told.


	10. Chapter 10

Kayden and Ryu had been left waiting on their ship after they had arrived. Moments after exiting the cave, the team surrounding them had tightened their stances in wait as both their eyes began to readjust to the piercing light that was the sun. After a few minutes, they had been led to a waiting ship and sitting there was their seemingly calm Instructor. Kayden did not have enough emotional energy to speak to the man, but had offered him a quick SeeD salute before sitting down and trying not to think about what he had lost.

Precious moments passed in silence before the dark-blonde haired boy could not take sitting still anymore and he stirred up. Ryu began pacing; walking back and forth trying to calm his nervous energy. Kayden had stayed sitting, trying not to let any emotion leak through his defences. There had been moments of panic; the fear of losing someone he cared more for than he what he could put into words had shaken him up pretty badly. But now the relief was tangible; he knew that she was alright.

Ryu had stopped his grief-stricken pacing for their lost comrade and friend, and was now indulging in relieved pacing that Kaidia was alright and had, somehow, eluded capture from the forces of enemy that had found them within the caves.

Instructor Bane had left once more and returned with an openly relieved look on his usually neutral face, announcing that Cadet Dos Santos was safe and was being escorted out by their own forces. He had also, in that moment, given out that the sample was already en-route towards Galbadia Garden, under heavy guard.

Kayden had sat back relieved at that sentence, and waited for the moment that she would be led to this ship as well. It was then that his thoughts had begun to wander. If Garden was protecting the sample under heavy guard, then he assumed that the sample Ryu had handed forth had not only been the only one delivered, but that up until its accidental discovery by his disbanded Squad, its existence had not been known. It had killed their leader, but at least an antidote could be found in case it was used on a civilian target. Garden had been watching and had sent people in to help, and as a result some of his faith in the system had been restored. 'But what's going to happen now?'

Kayden had felt like the SeeD exam was a beginning, but it turned out to be an end as well. All three had their hands tied to Suzu's death, but Kaidia the most. She had cast the spell that had ended his suffering, but had placed herself in danger to do so. There was so much to think about over the course of the time they had spent in the caves. He had killed his first human, and had seen one of his team mate's die under the worst circumstances. Kayden was pretty sure that even his mother, with her powerful intelligence and even more powerful Blue Mage skills, would not have been able to do anything to save the boy. 'My mother… oh Hyne, she's gonna kill me and everyone one behind this when she hears about it!'

Then there was the mission itself. The objective had been too much to expect from cadets, and yet, without any objection from the more sensitive faulty, they all had been thrown into that much danger with almost no warning. If there had been any objections, they had probably been outvoted by the followers of Verauan.

He blinked and a group of SeeDs entered, following with them was Kaidia. Her dark hair fell forward, out of the ribbon she had used to tie it up for this mission and brushed across her face hiding her grey eyes from view. She looked tired, and before Kayden could stop himself, he had rushed to the girl, pushed Ryu out of the way and had hugged her. In that moment, nothing else mattered. It was as if everything else had died and dimmed away in his mind, leaving her as the only important thing he could see with his eyes. She was safe, and nothing else mattered; not the exam, not Suzu, not the Headmaster nor the Commander, not even the stupid repercussions that they were surely to face due to uncontrolled circumstance.

The girl relaxed in his arms and then tensed once more as Ryu attached himself to her. The SeeDs left without a word and their Instructors' gaze locked with his. He barely felt the ship lift into the air, as it began to travel back towards Garden.

"I didn't want this." Was all he said.

Kayden understood instantly. He had been one of the instructors that had argued against this mission; clearly thinking it too dangerous to involve the cadets. Yet, now his group stood and remembered the one that had fallen this day. 'Verauan better lose his job for this one…' He mentally promised himself. 'He's the one that decided this mission…'

He slowly tugged the tired girl with him and got her to sit next to him on the chair. Ryu followed after them, and all three sat near each other, drawing comfort from the only others that had borne witness to what had occurred. Bane sat down in front of the girl, sitting on the table ahead of them.

"Cadet?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sir."

He gave her a disbelieving look. He had been their instructor for three years; guiding the entire class through the difficult transition from student to cadet.

"Just tired, Sir." She added on, eying him and his look. "And confused…" She trailed off there.

He nodded. "You all did well, faced with the circumstances you were in."

"Thank you Sir." All three echoed, at the same moment.

"What of the sample, Sir? Is it safe?"

Instructor Bane nodded to her question. "It is. It's being escorted to Garden under heavy surveillance. Lab technicians are already on standby for its delivery."

"Were we the only team that… was affected by this thing, Sir?"

"You were. No other Cadet or SeeD teams encountered it. The sample you brought out with you is Garden's only chance at studying the organism."

"And… what of the body? It could spread, by animals, Sir. Or mutate."

"SeeD teams have closed off the area where the body is… no monster can get to it."

"And… his parents, Sir?"

"Have been informed on what happened."

"What…?" She appeared not to be able to finish this question.

"Garden faculty have not determined a course of action in regards to the events."

"I see, Sir."

There was silence after that moment. Kaidia had apparently run out of questions, or had maybe run out of questions she wanted answered, and for good reason. Their Instructor wouldn't have all of the answers to their inquires, by law or otherwise. Kayden figured that his girlfriend probably had questions she was afraid to ask; namely what was going to happen to her after the Garden had decided its vote.

Kayden agreed with the decision she had made in that darkened cave when all other options had died, and he knew Ryu would back her up as well. However, even if they had been involved, their opinions wouldn't help them. Sure, they had been there with her and had been witness to the same horror, but in the eyes of Garden, they had not cast the fateful spell, but they didn't stop her either and thus they would be held accountable.

Kayden was certain that, if he had been only a moment ahead of where he had been, mentally running through every spell he knew of to see if there was any hope of Suzu's survival, he would have chosen to do the same. The deadly sleep spell had managed to tie his girlfriend up into the murky waters that went with the difficult charge of voluntary manslaughter, and if the Garden decided against her; if the parents wished it, she would be cast to the fickle fates of the courts to decide her sentence.

If the Garden voted for her decision, the parents could still press charges, but it was less likely they would win with the Garden backing the action of one of their cadets. It wasn't because the Gardens had any control over the governmental processes within the law, but because they would spare no expense to protect one of their own. With Garden funded lawyers, the video proof and eye witnesses, they could bargain for a lesser charge or possibly even get it dismissed. She already had two of those, but without the lawyers to support her case, there was a chance it would fail.

The best case scenario was if Garden supported her decision, and by some slim chance her parents chose not to press charges. Kayden was cynical enough to know that when there was a chance for grieving people to choose a scapegoat, it was likely the most vulnerable one would be chosen. In all honesty, it was what he expected them to do. What was worse than losing a son?

Kayden shook his head. What would it have done to his mother and father to learn that he had died on the SeeD exam? They would be grieving like Suzu's parents; lost and unsure of how to continue, being forced to bury their memories and hopes for him, as Suzu's parents had to do. His dad would be angry, and may go off and do something he would regret later in his grief, and his mother would pile herself deeper in work and try to keep the pain at bay. They wouldn't even have a body to bury. It was too dangerous to even think about removing the body from the cave, and his parents would have been burying an empty casket; imagining the dark hole their only child lay in for eternity, not even allowed to say goodbye.

He had seen that already once, as a young child. At eight years old, his favourite playmate had vanished in the tides of that passed over Balamb Beach and had never been seen again. Aurora had been assumed dead; having drowned by the furious waters. Kayden remembered standing with his parents; dressed in a little black suit, watching as the little girl's mother cried over the baby she had lost, while her father stood there with pain written in his face and tears burning in his eyes. Kayden had stood there, holding his mother's hand as they all had watched the empty casket of Aurora Leonhart be lowered into the ground and lay there empty forever. No body was ever recovered, and the little girl was just as lost to her parents as Suzu was to his. They would now be burying a child without the body, and would have to leave him behind as Squall and Rinoa had been forced to leave their only daughter in the past.

Dying was a risk of becoming a SeeD, but then again death was a risk of life, but SeeDs always played the odds; hoping for a good outcome, more than any other profession. They played with their lives; took their lives in their hands whenever they went out for a mission, and caused unknown amounts of stress for the parents, friends, lovers, or anyone else they left behind. Dying should not have been a risk to a child, yet there she was lost in the waves of the past.

He had seen their grief; watching over the years as he stayed in Balamb Garden. It had taken the couple years to recover, and his mother was quite sure that their Commander still felt the oppressive feelings of pain and guilt even to this day, twelve years after the girl died.

Death was a part of life, and at every moment a SeeD had to be ready to die. Kaidia had taken that literally, and had chosen to oversee the safety of the sample before her own. If she had not stayed back, they could not have outdistanced the troops, even if they had run. There was too many of them, and they all would have been overwhelmed. Whatever chance Garden had in studying this new parasite would have been lost.

Kaidia would make a good SeeD; he already knew that. Not only did she have excellent training with her Gunblade, as well as the distinction as being the only female Gunblade specialist, but she also had the intelligence and the know how behind it. She had learned what to do in situations like the one they had been in, and had moved to cover them when their leader could not. Kayden had noticed this fact when Suzu froze when killing his first human, and had not recovered as fast as himself or her. She had taken control of the group in such a way that it made him out to be the leader, having rephrased the order in the form of a question and maintaining the correct command of the group. She had placed them strategically having left the two more vulnerable fighters between two that could just barely handle the killing of humans. She had made sure that if there was an attack, then the ones that had been able to handle the stress were closer to the front of the attack instead of the two that had hesitated.

Kaidia would make a good SeeD and a good leader. As soon as she had accidentally established herself as the unofficial group leader after Suzu had panicked, Ryu had instinctively turned to her and used her to keep his own emotions in check. Kayden had observed that, during their desperate run to keep up with Suzu, Ryu would turn to look at her, as if checking to see if the situation was alright, before following their leader. Not that she could say anything directly on the pace he had set. If either had argued or even tried to slow the group down it may have been seen as insubordination and their marks would have been docked for not being able to follow orders.

'But with the outcome, I would have preferred to have my mark docked then have him die. None of us knew that would happen. We all knew with that pace, he had set no precautions for running into enemies, but none of us had expected that. As a result, he wound up dead.'

Suddenly, he realized something. He didn't know what had happened after he and Ryu had left her to the army; how she managed to escape. From the expression in her eyes, the odds had been bad. 'How did she get away then?'

He took a breath and turned to the girl sitting next to her. The trip had gone silent at some point that he did not know. He had drifted into thought, and the miles and minutes had vanished from his collective consciousness. Counting the time on the wall, he was surprised to discover it was 1638 hundred hours, and that their arrival at Garden was set at 1700.

"Kadi?"

She looked in his direction, turning her attention from her crossed arms. "Yeah?"

"How did you get away from the army?" he asked.

Beside her, Ryu had perked up and had turned to look in their general direction, apparently curious now that the question had been delivered.

"They cornered me, after I took some of them down with sleep and stop spells. I… confused one and set fire to him and he ran throughout his group. When they were distracted, I cast haste on myself and ran into a group of SeeDs." She answered his question coldly, but her eyes flickered when the answer came out.

Kayden nodded; knowing that, despite the tone of the answer, it was also on her mind.

"That was a good plan, Kaidia." Bane addressed from his solitary watch on the opposite couch. "If you were in that situation again, would you change anything?"

"That answer would depend on if I had stronger magic, Sir. At that moment, my best chance of escape was to create a diversion, Sir."

"Why?"

"Because I had to escape, Sir. I didn't see another way around the enemies."

"But would you do it again?"

"If I had to complete a mission, then yes, I would Sir. It doesn't mean I wouldn't determine if there was any other way first, Sir."

"Good." He nodded once more and seemed to drift away into thoughts, sitting there observing himself and two more of his pupils.

There was another long moment of silence as the minutes on the clock slowly ticked ahead, in a succession of precisely timed movements. From the window he was next to, Kayden could see the rapidly approaching golden white and red shell of the largest Garden in existence. With a wreath of gold surrounding it, held by streamers of floating red wires that were stronger than they looked, it was a magnificent view. A long time ago, Kayden had been told that the nearly invisible red streamers, attached to the golden wreath, were a part of an old flying machine that was used to move the original buildings that the Gardens were created in, out of the doomed country of Centra and to other locations due to a Lunar Cry. The Gardens were capable of flight, but because of habit, and long established traditions, all the Gardens stayed where they had been for the thirty five years of their existence; one on Balamb, one in Trabia and the largest in Galbadia, all three having taken their identifying names from the countries that housed them.

At about 1655 hundred, their instructor looked up and turned to speak to them once more.

"When we land, you will be escorted to your dorms. You will have exactly thirty minutes to clean yourselves up and then to report to the elevator. After that, you will be debriefed on your own, by the headmaster. Is that clear?"

"Yes Sir." All three chorused.

There was silence as the ship landed gracefully, right in front of ethereal like Garden.


	11. Chapter 11

Well chapter 11 has finally been posted. I apologize for the lateness of this post. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. I love reading your comments

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Kaidia stood at the door to the elevator with ten minutes to go on the predetermined time Instructor Bane had stated when they landed.

She had returned back to her dorm room, a simple and sparsely decorated white walled room with a set of bunk beds, and a desk sitting at the side. It hadn't taken her long to shower. As she had stood under the cleansing stream of hot water, she had felt some of her concerns begin to ebb down the drain, following the path of the water. She had watched the liquid, when she first entered the powerful stream of water, as it had turned a murky red tone; at all the blood that had been spilt on her today, and all the blood she had spilt on her own. After a moment, the water had turned clear once more.

Kaidia had wondered, while watching the swirling water, on whether time was similar. On if enough time could pass on this incident that it would no longer send shivers down her spine when she recalled the look in the dying boy's eye. Or if, in time, she could close her eyes once more and not recall watching helplessly as the infection ate away at his living body and mentally recoil at the screams that seemed to have recorded themselves into her memories. 'There are some wounds that time doesn't heal.' She had thought to herself as she exited the shower.

Once completely done with all the tasks that took time in her dorm, she left with Bast following quickly on her heels. After a quick run to awaken her dozing mind, as well as allow Bast a chance to stretch and attend his own business, she had arrived at the door, and was surprised to see Kayden standing there, waiting for her. Of the two, she was usually the extremely chronically early one, but in this he had won. As she joined him, she could see all the emotion swirling around in his eyes. To distract himself from thinking too much, Kayden had leaned over and made a show of stroking her 'dog's'' head, not that said dog minded the attention.

Bast might be a Guardian Force, but he still had some tendencies of an animal that had grown up on the receiving end of such interest, and, as Kayden concentrated on Bast, he responded by wagging his long and bushy tail. She had smiled softly at the scene.

The two had stood in silence and, without thought, she linked his hand with him as the last member of their team approached, following in his wake, just a few steps behind the dark-blond haired boy was their Instructor. Bane's expression was neutral, not showing any form of emotion that she could read in order to judge what was about to occur in the upcoming debrief. 'This will be my first debriefing too…' She realized in a start. 'About a topic that I don't want to remember, but will now be forced to recall in detail. I have to though. Suzu deserves to have his story told, so he won't be forgotten.'

As far as she remembered, this would only be the third time she had been up to the Headmaster's office; once when she and Kayden had been caught during one of their absconding adventures; once when she had gone to him with concerns over the Commander's favouritism, and now.

Kayden, Ryu and herself waited in silence as the dark-haired man opened the elevator for them and held the door. With the same growing silence, each member waited as the door slid shut and the elevator moved, heading up to the third floor, where the main offices were, as well as where the Headmaster was waiting for a report from the Squad affected by the murderous infection. Time seemed to slow as the elevator came to a stop and all four exited into the large waiting area that was meant to house high up officials, from cities or from other Gardens. She had heard from rumours circulated around the largest Garden that, only a few months before she transferred from Trabia, that this had been a meeting ground for all three Garden officials and that Squall Leonhart himself had been in this room.

Instructor Bane had left their side and had entered a room directly ahead of them, vanishing as the door shut behind him. If she was right in her assumption, then she would be the first interviewed; having the most to do with the issue that had caused so much trouble within the Garden. There was still silence as all three members of Squad A stood and watched the door. A moment later, Bane returned to the three and up to her side.

He nodded at her once and she left, walking towards the door and before she knew it, she stood at the Headmaster's desk, in attention and saluting him. Bast had, somehow, gotten in with her and was sitting with his chest puffed out once more. She was almost sure her dog did that to be funny, but right now the humour in the situation was lost on her.

"At ease," the soft spoken Headmaster said; sending a welcoming smile in her direction and glanced once at the dog at her side.

She nodded and relaxed her pose as Bast did too, and she took a second to gaze around. There was no one else in the room; just the two of them. The last thing she needed was to be stuck doing this with an audience. There was a camera mounted in the corner, focusing on the two; recording everything that took place. This testimony she gave would then be used to determine Garden's position on the 'crime' she had committed.

"Have you ever been debriefed before Cadet?" The elderly Headmaster asked.

"No, Sir. Although I'm aware of how the process works. I'm supposed to tell you of the situation in a comprehensible and concise manner as it progressed around me, and if you have questions, I am to answer them as clearly as possible, Sir."

"Good. When you're ready, begin."

'He's making this easy for me… or trying to." Kaidia realized. 'He knows how bad it was out there…'

"Yes, Sir." She spoke.

"State your name and ID for the record."

"Kaidia Dos Santos, SeeD Cadet Number #70983, Sir."

"State the Squad you were in and the names of the members of your Squad."

"Squad A. Suzu Higa, Kayden Trepe, Ryu Dincht and myself."

"Good. State the objective of your Squad."

"We were to neutralize any messages leaving or arriving from a pre-picked small section of the enemy army, while the SeeD and Dollet soldiers surrounded each of the larger groups. When the individual larger groups were completely cut off we were to withdraw."

"Do you think your Squad accomplished this objective?"

'What kind of question is that!' She thought to herself before speaking. "We did not allow any messages to get past, Sir. We accomplished that part of the order."

"I see. Tell me in your own words what happened, from the beginning Cadet."

"Yes Sir."

Kaidia stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts, thinking on every detail that had occurred within the hours they were in the cavern and organizing it into a flow that made logistical sense.

"Cadet Higa organized us into a group order and we entered the cave experiencing no difficulties or enemy traps. We then set out 45 degrees west of our location and, with his lead, started trekking through the caves."

"What do you think of the orders your leader gave at that moment."

'Why is he asking me this? This doesn't have anything to do with what happened.' Kaidia mused to herself.

"I… would have given a different positional order for the group, Sir."

"In which way?"

"I would have had moved Cadet Trepe or myself directly behind Cadet Higa, and Cadet Dincht to the back row with whoever was left over."

"Good, continue."

"We continued, following Cadet Higa's directions. Our Squad moved as quickly and as quietly as possible, avoiding as many fights as we could and only engaged if necessary. Also, we were told not to use loud weapons if there was a chance it would echo. We continued, onwards before, and we encountered Anacondaurs in the cavern. We also encountered a pack of Funguars and dealt with them swiftly."

"That's odd…" The Headmaster commented. "I'll have that information looked into. Anacondaurs usually migrate around the mountain region rather than within it. You may continue."

'At least he's listening to me.' Kaidia thought before proceeding. "Yes Sir. It was a short while later, we moved out, following the same order as before. It wasn't long before Cadet Higa called a halt and informed us that there were five enemy soldiers moving towards our location. We attacked as he planned, but, with all due respect to Cadet Higa's memory, he hesitated after killing the first of the soldiers. Dincht hesitated as well, and only aimed for extremities rather than vitals."

"And how did the battle make you feel?"

'How am I supposed to answer that! I felt so many things, but they all seem numb now; drowned out by the last.'

'_Answer as honestly as possible.' _Bast coached.

"It made me feel ill, Sir. Those two were the first humans I killed… and I guess I was confused and a little afraid. There didn't seem to be that much separating us, just different perspectives on the same thing."

"And how did you find the strength to recover?"

"There was a mission to complete, and our Squad was in bad enough shape that if another panicked it would not do well for the entire SeeD and Dollet army. I recovered because I remembered in that moment that if we failed then there was a chance that the whole army would fail. I made myself look at them, Sir. They could have been my age."

"I see. Please continue."

"Cadet Trepe and I cleaned up; Cadets Higa and Dincht were too shaken up to help. I tried to get Cadet Higa to continue as the leader but he did not seem ready to, so I sent Cadet Trepe ahead with the second tracking device, to search the cavern for the enemy soldiers, and to see where our final location was while I dealt with the last body. When he returned, I tried again, but Cadet Higa still wasn't responding."

"Do you blame him for his freezing like that?" Martine asked suddenly.

"No Sir. I do not believe he had any control over how he reacted. When it was obvious that Cadet Higa was not ready to resume leadership, I directed the team into the chasm and had Cadet Trepe watch the way we came for returning messengers while I watched the encampment of runners for any messages leaving."

"Why in that order?"

"There was no difference in between which area Cadet Trepe and I surveyed, but Cadets Dincht and Higa were still shaken up, and sending one of them to watch may have caused some repercussion. Also, I was unsure if they would be ready to attack if need be. So I tried to keep them between Cadet Trepe and myself. It wasn't long after that when a second wave of five men came. This time, the attack went off fine, and the entire team pulled their weight; none were left alive.

"Cadet Trepe and I returned to watching the areas we were before, until the order to withdraw came. Cadet Higa took back control at that moment and reorganized the group and we withdrew from our location, Sir."

"What were you thinking as he ran, Kaidia?"

"I… thought Cadet Higa was moving too quickly, and too carelessly for the situation we were in, Sir. It was hard enough just to keep up with him at the pace he set, and Cadets Dincht, Trepe and myself fell behind. Cadet Dincht tried to get him to call a halt, but by the time he had it was too late. Cadet Higa had run into a small section of enemy soldiers; eight to be exact, and two had pinned him. Cadet Dincht was spotted, but Cadet Trepe and myself were not. I had Cadet Dincht keep shooting at them to lure them out towards us, and the attempt was successful. Cadet Dincht then moved behind us and we waited for them to emerge from the cavern. The surprise attack worked, and eventually the only remaining soldiers were the ones holding down Cadet Higa. They were neutralized, but not before one of them injected the substance that eventually killed Cadet Higa into him."

Kaidia paused there for a second, gathering her thoughts once more before swallowing and preparing to continue. So far, this interview had swallowed up forty minutes and it did not seem likely it would end soon. The recorder in the background kept a steady eye on her as she spoke.

"I felt like something was wrong immediately, and when approaching him, I saw something decaying his body while he was alive. It was eating all of his internal organs and he bled out into cavities in his body. Out his ears and his mouth; his eyes were blood red, Sir. He opened his mouth to scream and his tongue flew out and all he could to was shriek in pain. I… had Cadets Trepe and Dincht try both magical and medical treatments we had but nothing worked; even a remedy had no affect. I looked at him once more, right into his eyes as I cast sleep on him Sir. He was dead in under three minutes, and all that was left of him was skin stretched over bone. The smell was horrible. It's not something I'll ever forget, Sir."

"I expect not." Martine muttered in sympathy. "You were in a difficult situation."

"Sir, I know what I did would constitute voluntary manslaughter. I am willing to accept any consequence as it comes from Garden as well as the law. However, Cadet Trepe and Cadet Dincht were not aware of what I was planning on doing, and I would ask that they not be involved if there were any charges."

"Very noble, but I can't do that. They were both close enough to cast a spell to cancel the effects but chose not to."

"I am the one that cast the spell, Sir. It was not by their consent."

"None the less, they were involved and because neither did anything to stop the spell, they will be drawn in despite your intentions, though it is honourable that you would take responsibility for them. What were you thinking as you watched the progression of the infection?"

'I knew that was coming!'

"I was thinking about how it is possible that people would create such a vile substance to be used on other humans, and how they could take pleasure in their work. How it was possible that someone had created that _thing_ just to have others suffer. I wasn't too sure what to think; I have never seen or heard of anything like that."

"And after Cadet Higa was dead?"

"I thought about his life in Garden; how similar our lives were, in what we did and who we knew. What our lives were like before the SeeD exam and how his death would affect his parents and friends. I thought about how many other people would die if this army that has the infection would use it on civilian targets and that a sample had to be brought to Garden to hopefully create an antidote. I guess I thought about getting out of there and being able to tell people what happened, so people would remember. That thought is what made me move in the end."

Kaidia took another breath, pausing to recall the exact order of events. "I looked to see where the phone was, but unfortunately, it was on Cadet Higa's body and I doubted it was safe to handle. After that, I had Cadet Trepe clean a potion bottle as well as he could and, using the smallest suction tool out of the lock picking set, I retrieved a sample of Cadet Higa's infected blood and carefully placed it in the bottle. After securing it, with the lid as well as with a towel, I convinced Cadet Dincht to carry it as well as be our guide to find the exit."

"Why did you pick that order to travel in?" her Headmaster asked.

"Cadet Trepe is physically stronger than I am and I believed he would be best at countering a frontal attack. I am faster at evasion and magical offence and defence and would be best served holding up the back of the group to stop any surprise attacks. We started off slowly, letting Cadet Dincht pick the pace he was comfortable with."

"Why did you get Cadet Dincht to carry the sample?" Martine asked.

"He was badly shaken up by what he saw, more so than Cadet Trepe or myself. I knew he would not be able to help us if we were attacked by anything, and to protect him, as well as ensure the safe arrival of the sample and the relative safety of everyone in the group, I thought it would be best to have one person committed to carrying it while the remaining two served for his protection.

"We were nearing the exit when I heard something. I looked back and caught a flicker off the side wall, and guessed it to be flashlights. So, I got Cadet Trepe and Cadet Dincht to move out without me. By the time I warned them, I had already been spotted. At that moment, all that mattered was the safe delivery of the sample to Garden."

Martine nodded slowly as she paused for a second longer.

"What would you have done if the enemy had caught you?" Martine fired another question at her.

"I would have said nothing about my team or us having a sample of the substance that had killed Cadet Higa."

"And if they asked about Garden and its practices."

"I would not betray Garden, Sir." She answered with no hesitation.

'Garden's my home…'

"Very good. Go on."

"I managed to escape the enemy and as I was leaving, I noted that SeeDs and Dollet soldiers were heading towards the enemy soldiers. I met with SeeD Faclicon and his team escorted me out of the cavern and to a docked ship." She stopped there, and waited for more directions.

Martine stared at her and nodded, indicating that he was aware that her story had ended there. "Very good, Cadet. How do you feel about the entire day's exam?"

"I feel that too much responsibility was placed on the Cadet Squads Sir."

"Duly noted." Martine advised.

"But I don't think that contributed to our situation. I'm not exactly sure what to think about what happened, Sir."

He nodded with an understanding expression donning his features. "Is that all, Cadet?"

"Sir, about the sample?"

"It is being studied by our best and brightest as we speak."

"I see. Thank you, Sir. And what of Cadet Higa's family?"

"They have been informed, but are waiting for some time to pass before they decide on their course of action with the law. As it stands, you have no privileges removed and have until further notice, all the standing of Cadet in our Garden. Just don't try to run."

"I won't, Sir." She promised instantly.

"That was a joke, Cadet."

"I see, Sir." Kaidia answered without changing expression or tone.

"You sometimes remind me of a young SeeD I met a long time ago, Kaidia."

"May I enquire as to whom I remind you of?"

"Just an old friend, who had difficulty acknowledging that jokes existed too."

"I see, Sir." She echoed her last sentence.

"You are dismissed. I would suggest you return to your dorms and rest though."

"Yes Sir." She answered, snapping into the salute and turning on heel she walked out of the room.

By protocol, she was not allowed to discuss the course of the debrief with her comrades, so without a word she returned to the elevator. Despite her exhaustion, she was vaguely aware that Kayden had left his seat in the waiting room and was headed in the opposite direction to her. She was soon on her way down to the lower levels of Garden and heading, with Bast, to her room.

She didn't even bother changing and just collapsed into her bed, with her pet climbing up next to her and curling up like a stuffed animal. Taking the invitation, she curled around him and snuggled her face into his soft fur.

'_You did well, Child, in such a difficult situation. I am proud of you.'_

'_I'm so confused…this isn't the end, is it? Something else is going on, that involves me. Why am I the leader?'_

'_Because you inspire; you are the light of many.'_

'_What do you mean?'_

'_It will become clear in time, sweet one. Rest now. Do not concern yourself with what will occur later, just rest.'_

There was nothing after that; just the darkness surrounding her, followed with her drowsy recollections of her oldest friend singing lullabies as she sank into the safe realm of a dreamless sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

And here it is. After a long delay, which I apologize for. I'm beginning to resent working. I had hoped I would have more time to update stories during the summer, but I still seem to be as busy as I was before. Thanks to those that are reading this fic.

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Martine resisted the urge to bang his head on his desk as the debate continued on in his office, now heading well past the nightly curfew of all the students in the Garden. The dark sky waited patiently outside, lit dimly by the pin points of lost stars and the large half filled silver moon. It looked so inviting out there; a perfect night to step out onto his balcony and enjoy the natural lights of the tiny suns and the only moon with a drink in his hand. It was just the right temperature; where it wasn't too hot to be sticky, nor to cold to need a coat. Unfortunately, his nightly routine had been broken by the party of men and women that now sat in his office; all the higher ups of this Garden, including its Commander.

Personally, the Headmaster couldn't stand Commander Verauan and had wondered at more then one point on this night what Squall had been thinking when electing him to run Galbadia Garden and by doing so had backed him into a corner. The elderly Headmaster was not slow; he could tell that Charles Verauan was extremely upset that 'one of his all time favourites sure to do wondrous things as a SeeD' students had been killed by another of his 'favourites.'

Not that Martine was a hundred percent sure on where his vote would be held on that subject either. He knew why Kaidia had done it. Anyone watching that video with half a heart and with the experience she had would have made that decision, but unfortunately that did not mean it was the right one.

He sighed and tuned back into the repetitive argument that that ensued after all three students had been gently debriefed and told to go and rest. Only moments after the last had left, his peaceful office had been bombarded by the loud and frequently annoying voices of his staff.

"We have a potentially disastrous situation on our hands!" Geria Yuis was saying. "This could cause havoc in not only this Garden but all three. We can't have Cadets running around killing each other!"

"I wouldn't say she killed him,' Barry Syuma answered back.

Both were faculty heads in different subjects.

"It was more a mercy action than any." Barry continued.

"Mercy doesn't change the fact that it was by her hand that he died." Geria stated…again.

Several of her supporters cheered in agreement.

"But it wasn't her hand that injected that toxin." Cleo argued "So the Cadet in question isn't directly responsible for his death."

"She still played a part in it!" Darien insisted, siding with Geria.

"Not a large one. Unfortunately it looked on the tape that he would have died in minutes anyways." Barry answered.

"But in those minutes someone else may have come up with another idea to save him… another spell." Clediua complained.

"I'm the head of the magical department." Vert stated. "There's no spell in existence that could have stopped that, and even if there was something that could have been done for that boy, help would have come too late to save him. You saw what that infection was doing to him."

"Look at what his quality of life would have been after that." Barry agreed.

Martine was almost sure he would not get a word in edgewise and this was getting ridiculous.

"But he would still have lived!" Geria practically yelled out. "And look at how callously she preformed the act. Even in the debrief, Cadet Dos Santos showed a lack of response for her actions! As if it didn't bother her to kill someone she knew!"

"That's how SeeDs are trained to react." Xia pointed out. "She was just reacting as she has been taught by the faculty."

"But to show no emotion?"

"That's enough!" Martine broke in, surprising the arguing heads. "She showed emotion over the death. It was evident in the debrief as well as in the tape."

"But what of her voice? SeeDs' are trained to know how to school their emotions in certain circumstances. Her lack of emotions may be caused to some psychological stress due to his event or one earlier." Geria stated triumphantly.

Martine mentally slapped his head. 'They just ignored me'

"I say we give her a psychological exam." Clediua answered, proving him right.

"There are no grounds for it." Barry answered. "We know this is a stressful situation for her, so why make it worse by us sending the message that we think she's crazy!"

"Psychological testing would determine the relative health of her mind."

"Oh get off it! You want to test three quarters of this Garden!" Barry argued. "And besides, at the moment, the results would be void due to that incident. Any test you do within a three day time period would not count."

"But it would show what she's thinking!"

"She's a quiet kid." Bane said something finally. "She thinks a lot, but doesn't say much to others."

"She doesn't trust us." Geria stated. "More reason to test her."

"She's an introvert. There's nothing wrong with that, and any move to test her right now could be argued as impeding her rights."

"And what about the rights of the victim?" Hexu asked. "Has anyone considered that? He is the one that is dead right now."

"Don't think we don't know that." Xia remarked back. "But right now her rights need to be protected too. Until we decide further, she is just a Cadet, and did nothing wrong."

"DID NOTHING WRONG!" Geria shouted.

'Any louder? I don't think the junior classmen heard you.' Martine mocked to himself.

"SHE KILLED HIM!"

"She did not!" Bane stated.

"You would say that! She's your student and it would look bad on you if you had trained a murderer!" Geria pressed.

"Her being my student has nothing to do with me defending her. I stand on her side as I know her, I have a past with her, more so then you. And as I see it, she did not kill him, merely granted him mercy so he wouldn't suffer. I wonder why you are so quick to scapegoat her, Geria?"

"I'm not scapegoating anyone. I'm just trying to explain that this issue will explode out of control if nothing is done; and not just in our Garden either. Soon each and every one of the Gardens will wish to act."

"I know that." Barry stated. "We all do. But that's no reason to go and cast blame on a Cadet that happened to be in the wrong spot and did something that could be construed as manslaughter, while trying to help someone she has known for a few years."

"Geria's right about the issue exploding out of control." Martine stated. "Unfortunately, until this is resolved, it is likely that the SeeD exam results can't be given out."

"Why not!" Verauan asked suddenly.

Martine sighed. "Because it would be an unfair assessment at this moment. Because of the circumstances that involved the entire group in Squad A they can't be judged at all. As you know, only the best can pass, and if we don't compare all the Squads results with each other, some that are not ready to be SeeDs may pass by accident."

"But it would be unfair to hold them back!" Cleduia argued.

"We have no fair way of judging them."

"I know." Cleduia answered. "I carry the motion that the SeeD exam results be withheld until this matter is cleared up."

"All opposed?" Martine continued.

There was silence in the room as none could probably think of a viable argument to sway the decision.

"Motion carried." Martine finished. "But we've been arguing for hours over this topic and all the points have been stated and restated. We need a fresh mind on this."

"Who would you suggest, Headmaster?" Barry asked.

"Trabia Garden officials. They have a four year history with her, and may have information about her that we have missed or haven't received."

"Sounds good. It would be early enough to catch them before their business day starts if we call them now." Vert stated.

"I agree." Geria conceded. "There really isn't enough information in the transfer files to get a sense of her personality."

There was a consensus within the rest of the group and they all turned and stared at him. Martine just stared right back, confused on what they wanted. "Now!' He questioned.

"Fax the information over to them and tell them that this is a detail that needs immediate attention. Garden should have a position before Mr. and Mrs. Higa do." Bane pointed out. "Let them get back to us in their own time. Besides, we all could use a break; we're beginning to forget that we're all friends here, just wanting to protect the interests of Garden."

Martine nodded; Cius Bane definitely had a silver tongue and was excellent at diffusing a situation before it got too stressful and too loud. With a patient expression, he gathered up all the information he had and began the process of sending it out to the smallest Garden. It was only seconds before he had an acknowledgement that the fax had been received and that in an hours' time Trabia would connect via a telecommunications web to confer with the matter online, once it had the required amount of time to introduce the matter to their faculty.

Unfortunately the time passed quickly, and so did Martine's peace. He was now sitting staring out at the darkened sky, wishing that he could escape this hell he had subjected himself to. For now, not only did he have his own Garden faculty yelling at each other, but he was being forced to listen to Trabian officials add to the debate. After their agreement that the SeeD results should be withheld from the entire grade, the argument had started off again, this time with more people involved. When this was done, he was going to corner Cius and possibly cut out his silver tongue and feed it to him.

"This is ridiculous!" Headmistress Jemsia from Trabia stated. "Cadet Dos Santos's involvement in Cadet Higa's death is laughable. She didn't kill him!"

"Then what would you call it?" Geria stated.

"Mercy. Are you so cold that you don't remember that concept?" Jemsia asked.

"Are you so idealistic that you can't realize that one of your old Cadets may be charged with manslaughter for deliberately murdering another?"

"There was no murderous intent in her actions." A faculty from Trabia yelled, sitting near their Headmistress. "Are you so cynical that you've forgotten 'Innocent until proven guilty?' Or what situation the entire year of graduating class was put in!"

"That was our Garden's decision." Verauan cut in smoothly. "It is not up for debate."

"It was a blatant disregard for their ages and their relative experiences in armed conflict."

"None the less, it is past and is not the issue!" Verauan defended 'his' decision.

"Yes it is, Charles!" Jemsia cut in. "With the Cadets placed in that much danger and with an extremely high expectation on them, something was bound to happen! That exam goes against so many rules in the SeeD manual!"

"It is not the issue. What is the issue is whether we stand with Cadet Dos Santos or not." Cleduia cut in. "With the evidence weighing against her…"

"What evidence?" A dark haired Trabian faculty cut in.

"The tapes and the debriefing…" Geria answered.

"I would say that the tapes and the debriefing almost weigh in her favour. Also, the sample of the infection hasn't been studied to see if anything would be effective in stopping its progress!" The Trabian continued.

"Not that any magic I've heard of could have stopped the outcome, or any item for that matter." The next official from Trabia spoke.

"Not that she gave them any option to check." Another argued from Trabia

"You're counting on the fact that help would have been there soon enough to assist. From what I've heard on the substance, it doesn't seem likely that he would have lived that much longer…or would have had much of a life if he had." The second man from Trabia continued.

"Doing things for the right or humane reason does not mean it is the correct thing to do!" The third pointed out.

"But it doesn't mean it was the wrong thing either." Vert cut in to the argument rapidly ensuing between the Trabian officials.

Martine almost wished the man had kept his mouth shut; he laid his head in his hands and massaged his temples trying to rid himself of the headache that was forming. He was almost a hundred percent sure that he had heard that exact phrasing for that argument just a little while ago. Which was incredibly possible as this argument ate away the hours of night. It was now somewhere past 0200 hundred in the morning, and it looked as if nothing would be resolved at any time.

"But a more advanced magic or status item may have stopped or slowed the effects!" Geria proudly pointed out again.

"So he could die more slowly, over months instead of minutes?" Barry asked. "And by the time a team had arrived with more advanced magic or medical item, his condition would have worsened to the extent where it was likely he would have died anyways!"

His statement was cheered by his supporters on both sides of the communication lines.

"Then does what Cadet Dos Santosdid constitute manslaughter?" Barry continued.

And for a lack of a better phrase, the shit hit the fan, as multiples of people all began to speak at the same moment, trying to get their view heard and trying to gain support from those still uncertain of where they stood. It got louder and louder as everyone's voices fought to gain audience over all others, Not only from Galbadia, but the Trabian officials also had jumped at the question too.

It was so loud that Martine was sure that a gun firing over head would not be heard in the ruckus that was being created by the supposedly grown up officials of either Garden. Martine found himself wishing he had a gun he could fire at the moment. Like in the old movies he had seen, where a gun was fired at the ceiling to get an argument under control. But even if he pulled a gun here, the trained faculty would have it out of his hands so quickly that it would not count for anything. Actually, they just might decide that he had lost his mind in the heat of the moment. That would not look good on Garden. The Headmaster of the largest Garden goes crazy and tries to shoot his faculty. Martine could almost see the headlines now, as well as Squall's consternation as he would be forced to find another to replace him. That man had enough on his plate.

Then his mind hit upon an idea, rather the idea walked into his mind and had waited patiently until the person it needed was thought of. 'Squall Leonhart.'

Martine did not want to involve the third Garden in this too, but as the hours ticked away and it got steadily closer and closer to dawn, he began to see that there would not be much choice in that decision. Both Galbadia and Trabia Gardens were head locked, with the vote being cast at roughly the same numbers for supporting the Cadet, as well as against. But what held the decision was a large party on either side that would not vote for either. What they were waiting on, Martine did not know.

He sighed once more, as once again the argument resumed its debate on whether the psychological health of the student involved should be examined and once more the war of words waged on. Martine was sure that he had heard this before.

"Well then, what is the definition of manslaughter?" Someone asked.

Martine leaned forward in his desk. 'Ah something new?' he hoped fervently. 'Anything is better then giving Squall more work to do.'

"We haven't even decided if it is manslaughter or not!" Barry retorted back.

'Never mind.' Martine continued and leaned away from the debate once more. He was going to hate informing Squall on this one, especially when the details surrounding the SeeD exam came out. Martine found himself almost himself pitying Verauan at that moment. Almost. It was about time that the irresponsible leader of Galbadia Garden SeeDs got a dressing down from the Commander of the oldest existing Garden.

Martine had known Squall as a teenager, but even he found him to be a little intimidating at times. It wasn't physical height… most males had the Balamb Commander beaten in that respect, but something existed within Squall Leonhart that commanded the respect of all around them, and when he was upset at someone, then that unfortunate person was all too aware of how 'tall' he could be. Despite age differences or height differences, both he and Verauan were both older and taller, and Martine almost found himself balking at the notion of telling the Commander the events, even though he was a hundred percent sure that would be the next step.

"It may have been the right action, but it still was manslaughter!" Someone said from the screen to his left.

"The definition of Manslaughter states that one voluntarily withholds information or acts in such a way that it leads to another human's death, and the way Cadet Dos Santos acted directly caused the death of her Squad leader, Cadet Higa!"

"Her casting a sleep spell on Cadet Higa made it so he was unaware of what was occurring to his body. The action did not directly cause his death, only made him unaware of it. The action that caused his death was whatever was injected into him by those men. If you're looking for his killer, then those two that were pinning him were responsible." Bane calmly pointed out.

"But we still don't know if there was a way to stop it." Huuia stated.

"If there was, it was not within their means to do so!" A Trabian official agreed with her teacher.

"So they acted with the current information they had, in a fair manner. They did try everything else before Cadet Dos Santos resorted to the sleep spell!" Vert agreed.

"If it went to trial, she would be held accountable for the charge of manslaughter!" Geria argued, several Trabian officials also agreed.

"Without the support of Garden, she would go to jail, and I'm not sure a crime has been committed." Barry answered.

'They're stating everything over and over and over, just in different words.' Martine realized. 'Yes… Squall is going to love this one.' He realized that to his horror he was morbidly curious to see the look on the Commander at Balamb Garden's face when this issue exploded to him, with officials of both Gardens clamoring to be heard. 'Sorry, Squall.' He apologized mentally before looking for a time he could cut in.

"And what if she had the support of Garden? She may still be punished even if we stood behind her." Barry added.

"We don't even know if the parents are going to press charges." Kelia started in.

That was definitely a new argument and by the nods that were coming from the other more quiet officials he was pretty sure of what was holding up their votes. They wanted to see where the parents sat with the issue before setting their own opinions down in stone. 'Really sorry…'

"Why wouldn't they press charges!' Geria started in once more. "She killed their child!'

"In a certain light she did, but in another light it was merciful. No loving parent wants to see their child in pain." Xia argued.

"She broke the law." The first Trabian official agreed with Geria; speaking from the right of their Headmistress.

"Or couldn't stand to see someone she had known for three years suffer like that." Jemsia stated. "But this debate is getting us no where. I'm sure you all realize this by now."

Everyone quieted and looked towards the Headmistress of Trabian Garden. Martine felt a flicker of relief he wouldn't have to push his voice to gain the masses attention. "I concur." He stated simply. "It seems we cannot settle this issue between Cadet Dos Santos's current Garden and her first. We have to turn this over to the attention of Balamb Garden and ask for the Commander's input in this decision."

The silence ticked by as everyone absorbed the idea. He gave them the time they needed to realize that there was no option anymore that would suffice and that Balamb was their last option.

"I second the motion." Vert answered.

"All opposed?" Martine asked.

Once more there was an oppressive silence. Martine almost found himself wishing that enough would disagree so that he would not be forced to be the one that would have to contact the first Garden's Commander about this situation. As Kaidia's current Headmaster, that sad duty fell on his shoulders alone.

"All for?"

The ballots were cast immediately, on both sides of the telecommunications device, sealing his fate. This was going to be a very bad morning for the Balamb Garden Commander, as this had the endorsement of both Trabia and Galbadia Garden as an issue that demanded his immediate attention, it would be the first thing on his desk when he awoke.

Martine nodded, half to the amassed crowd and half to accept his fate. "Very well. I have a prepared fax, in case this had to be taken further then our own Gardens. I have just faxed it to Balamb. But it is still the middle of the night there and the earliest Commander Leonhart will return the call is 0700 hundred, Balamb time. I will take the call and forward his suggestions on the council that has to form for this. I will alert Trabia Garden as soon as I am free from the Commander's call to give you more details. As for me, I'm going to bed, so get out of my office."

With that, Martine left the room, heading for a much needed rest, aware that his entire faculty was staring at his turned back. 'Finally something got them to be quiet.'


	13. Chapter 13

Hi...It's just me editing the chapter. Anyways I just thought I should add this note, seeing as I haven't before. If you have read this story before you might have noticed that I've changed Kohana Maeda's name to Kaidia Dos Santos. A friend suggested to me that she could then go by the nickname Kadi. Just so you know. Please submit a review and tell me if I missed any of the changes.

* * *

It was 0630 hundred when Kaidia awoke to a gentle tapping on her bedroom door. Ronna stood there, dressed and looking alert, by some odd turn of fate. By some miracle that Kaidia had thought that only Hyne would be able to produce, Kayden had somehow managed to wake the entire group before it was absolutely necessary that they be up and had gotten them to come with him down to her and Ronna's dorm room. Not that with what happened yesterday that had been too hard, she gathered as she cleaned herself up, showering while Ronna cared for Bast and took him out for his morning run. All Kayden really had to do was say something bad had happened to him, Ryu and herself and all would have been pounding on her door last night.

She was thankful for the reprieve though. When she had arrived at her dorm, she had not been in the mood to see anyone nor to be in the presence of anyone other than her friend Bast. She had been exhausted and had probably fallen asleep just after she lay down from returning from her debriefing. Not that she had slept the entire night either. She had awoken, at some point in the long march of night, shivering and trembling due to the most recent horrible experience she had undergone in her exam. The dying images of the Cadet that had, at that time yesterday, been alive and maybe sleeping in preparation for the exam, haunting her as she jerked awake. She had half expected to be back in that icy cave, watching as he died once more. Bast had stirred up with her and had spent the better part of two hours comforting her and crooning her back to an uncertain sleep once more, with her tears drying on his soft fur. He had licked her face, with his warm and gentle tongue, licking away the tears. As if he were trying to kiss away all her hurts, like he had done when she had been a little girl. Hurts inflicted upon her by her mother and father.

They had called her unworthy of being their daughter, and that she shouldn't have been born. In her memory, she had said something to that, but her mind did not remember what that sentence had been. All she knew was whatever she said had resulted in another beating. She could not remember anything else, other than the abuse. Her memories of them were strained and half confused with time, as if viewed like an old movie. If her parents could be so cruel to their own child, then it was all too apparent to the girl that people could exist in this world that would be that cruel to a complete stranger; cruel enough to break a family apart with their actions.

Kaidia wasn't sure what was going to happen to her, once everything was decided, but she stood by her decision, and nothing in the world would make her change her mind over what had occurred. If placed in that situation again, she would make the same hard choice, if there were no other option open to her. She could only hope that Garden would find an antidote or a vaccine to use against it. She found herself hoping that Suzu's death was not in vain.

It was a funny feeling; thinking of someone that had been her age as being dead. Dead; gone; no more; left behind… nearly forgotten. As long as she and her team remembered what had happened, then Suzu's memory would live on, even if he did not. He had been lost in that cave, as the cruel hand of another deliberately poisoned him.

As she brushed her damp hair, Kaidia was struck with a feeling that she had lost something in that dark place, something she would never have again.

She changed, as she heard the excited quiet barks of Bast, greeting all the people that had gathered in the common room nearby. He was probably enjoying all the extra attention he was receiving. She smiled slightly, fixing the mask once more and slipped out of her room and to her four friends and boyfriend sitting waiting for her. They all smiled at her, and some waved hello. Breana Kinneas bounced over to her, holding a coffee and hugged her swiftly, Kaidia felt the urge to pull away but fought it for the promised coffee, as well as the fact that they were all friends and the bonds between them all ran deeper than even she could describe. They had come to cheer her, Kayden and Ryu up when they needed it the most.

She had not known them her whole life, but as she accepted them, so they accepted her and the bonds' between them formed fast. Breana released her, and gave her the coffee.

Without waiting, in threat of another hug, Kaidia slipped around the group and went to the only available free chair. Unfortunately for Kayden, he was already sitting on it, and without giving him a chance, she slipped on his lap and rested with her back to his chest. He encircled her waist with his arms and nuzzled the back of her neck, kissing gently several sensitive spots he found. Kaidia shivered at every expertly placed kiss; how he knew her so well as to gently tease her and withhold more when she pressed. She was going to get him for this at some point, but right now she was a little to comfortable to move.

"Can I get a sip of that…" he questioned, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"No." This was a little game of theirs; fighting over coffee.

"But I asked nicely." He protested.

Everyone within distance rolled their eyes at the familiar routine. It usually ended with Kaidia being so charmed by her handsome 'Knight' that she gave in. Or maybe she gave in so he would stop whining about it.

"Please." He begged.

"Haven't you had any today?" A second later she realized what she had just said as Toby and Breana burst out laughing, followed by the just cluing in Ryu and Ronna.

"Are you offering?" Kayden asked archly, a grin marring his features.

She frowned at her giggling friends. She really hated it when people laughed at her, but could admit that the context had been pretty bad. "You're all gutter minded…"

"So are you!" Toby argued.

"Wouldn't talk." Breana agreed with her little brother, although there really was only a year between them.

"Yeah. Because of you two." Kaidia shot back.

"And you'll thank us later." Toby promised.

"When?" The conversation continued.

"Later. And besides, you like it in the gutter and you know it." Bre answered.

"You fell in very quickly. It was easy to pull you down." Toby added.

"Like I had a chance against all five of you!" Kaidia muttered

"No…Not really." Toby stated.

"Not one hope." Breana continued. "And then you made yourself nice and comfy beside Kayden."

Both coloured at the context of that statement.

"Just a sip…" Kayden spoke up once more, interrupting the first conversation.

"If I say yes, will you stop whining?" she asked.

"Oh…well if it's that easy to get you to say yes then I shoulda done it years ago…What else will you say yes too?"

"Oh, bite me."

"With pleasure."

Kaidia eyes narrowed dangerously at her smirking boyfriend and at her once more laughing friends. This whole argument had been going wrong for her from the get go, and before it got any worse for her, she gave him the coffee.

He took a sip and then handed it back. "Now, was that so hard?" he asked triumphantly.

She glared at him darkly, refusing to answer and, before he could start up another round of gutter minded verbal sparring, she quickly finished the warm drink, ignoring the slight burning on her tongue.

"Hot enough for you?" Kayden asked curiously.

Kaidia bit her lip to avoid being pulled into the comment that had immediately danced to the forefront of her mind.

"We have to get that asshole fired." Kayden spoke suddenly.

"Verauan?" She asked, immediately following her boyfriend's thoughts.

"Who else? He's behind everything!" Kayden announced.

"We've tried." Kaidia argued. "Several times. Verauan just suppressed Martine's attempt to change that word you love so much."

"'Be' is such a confusing word…" Kayden muttered. "It's not my fault that I have trouble understanding it."

"It's not your fault…" Ronna muttered in disbelief. "Yeah right."

"And it's not your fault that I seem to have trouble understanding it either?" Kaidia challenged.

"No… I have you on the technicality." Kayden answered. "You can't figure out a way around it, and you know why we're actually sneaking out of Garden."

"Yeah, but if we're never caught, it can't be taken above our own Garden." Kaidia argued.

"I'm still gonna try." Kayden promised. "If it wasn't for that jerk, then Suzu would still be alive…"

She looked down, finding it difficult to answer.

There was a pause for several minutes, as the large group sat in friendly silence. Each was content to let their thoughts wander. The sun had just struck the window on its winding path through the sky and sent warn shimmers down throughout the room and over her friends. Her hair was hit by the sun, and its gentler and warmer reds and faint gold tones shone through, lightening the dark mop that sat on her shoulders.

"I've always loved your highlights…" Ronna muttered staring enviously at her. "You must have a light haired parent in your family."

Kaidia blinked at the sudden change in the conversation but was grateful it had occurred.

"What is it about girls and their hair?" Kayden muttered under his breath.

Kaidia had to duck as one of the other girls threw a pillow at Kayden. She sighed in exasperation. The topic usually did not come up much, as she had made it clear that it was not something she wished to divulge to them. To her surprise, they respected her wishes and usually avoided the topic of parents all together. Kayden tightened his grip on her, giving his silent support.

Of all of her friends, Kayden was the only one that knew her background with her parents, and he only knew the basics. For as long as she was alive, there would be no one that would know the exact situation she had gone through. It would not haunt anyone else the way it did her memories; she refused to allow it to do so, and, with her efforts, no one would ever know that her entering at Trabia Garden at the tender age of ten was because Child Services had removed her from her parents and placed her there. When she was old enough, she had the records suppressed; using the law to her advantage to hide her past from everyone else.

"Both my parents have light hair; as blonde as Kayden." She answered, surprising herself with her answer.

"That's very unlikely." Kayden stated. "You couldn't be a brunette with two blondes as parents. You'd be blonde too, or would at least have light hair. I'm a good example of that."

Kaidia blinked. That had been something she had barely considered in her musings about her parents. It was indeed unlikely that she could have as dark a tone in her hair as she did with two parents as blonde as they were. Either one or both dyed their hair or a brunette gene in the family was the cause for her darker toned hair or… or she was adopted.

"I'm pretty sure I'm adopted." She answered finally, deciding that she liked that option better then the original two. 'But if they did dye their hair away from my colour… why though? Are they hiding from something?'

"Why not ask them?" Bre asked.

"We… don't get along. Can we talk about something else?"

"Still, I would kill for hair like yours." Bre continued.

"Something other than hair." Ryu pleaded.

"It's just hair." Kaidia pointed out.

"What happened?" Ronna asked finally, all light dying from the talk.

Kaidia closed her eyes. She had not been placed under orders not to express the incident to her friends and as she understood the grapevine and the rumor mills at Garden, everyone awake had probably been made aware of some aspects of yesterday's events. 'These are my friends… they deserve the truth…'

"Our Squad leader died." She announced calmly. "My actions directly contributed to his death… but I didn't kill him."

"What?" Ronna asked.

"He… was infected with this substance. It…" she broke off, shuddering internally at the memories.

"It ate him alive…" Kayden added for her. "Kadi cast sleep on him… to keep him from suffering."

"And that contributed to his death how?" Bre asked.

"It could be seen as manslaughter." Kayden answered.

"Sounds more like compassion to me." Ronna stated.

"It depends on how Garden and the law interpret it." Kaidia answered. "It can be viewed as both merciful and manslaughter."

"Well… Garden hasn't let us down before. They'll make the right decision." Ronna defended their home.

"The right decision may not be the one we think is right." She answered.

"I think you did the right thing." Ryu spoke up.

"I do too." Kayden agreed. "And with the both of us speaking for you, even if things go bad, that's still a lot."

"No courts will take the word of eye witnesses that I have a personal and a friendship based relationship with."

"The tapes will back you too and whatever evidence we get from the sample." Kayden argued back.

"What sample?" Bre questioned.

"I took a sample of infected blood from Suzu's body and our squad brought it out with us to Garden."

"How do you bring something that dangerous out?" Ronna asked curiously.

"Very carefully." Ryu answered. "I should know, I carried it."

He now sounded proud of what he had done. Kaidia could admit he had something to be proud of. Without his co-operation, there would have been little chance that she or Kay could have succeeded in bringing a viable sample out of the caverns.

"You carried it!" Ronna exclaimed staring at her twin brother in shock "It coulda killed you!"

"I know… but Kadi said it was safe and I trust her. Also, if we didn't, it would've made Suzu's death in vain."

"…Oh…" Ronna spoke again, as if unsure of what to say on the matter. "Well, I agree with Ryu and Kayden." She continued finally. "No matter what happens."

"Thanks." Kaidia said.

"What are roommates for?" Ronna questioned.

"To tease for personal enjoyment, as well as to blame when things backfire?" Kaidia answered with a sweet tone of complete clueless innocence.

"You've definitely spent WAY too much time with me…" Breana concluded finally. "I've actually rubbed off on you; the apocalypse must be upon us."

"Funny." Kaidia answered in a tone that made it quite clear that she was not amused. "With the amount of time I spend with you guys I'm surprised I haven't picked up any more of your traits."

"Well you definitely have adopted a lot of Kayden's traits." Ryu said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Kayden announced.

"Well… one of you is enough." Breana concluded, smirking at the boy behind her. "Any more and the world would be screwed."

"Yeah… he's definitely unique, and no one should be allowed to be exactly like him." Toby continued.

"That would be wrong." Ryu spoke. "Very wrong."

"And besides, Aurora was to much like you as is. You used to drag her into a whole lot of trouble." Ronna spoke.

"But she was so good at getting out of it." Kayden defended.

Kaidia perked up upon hearing that name. She had been sitting there, half ignoring the conversation around her, and this was a name from their history that she had not heard before. It was their past that they were discussing, a past she did not share. 'But I can't be the one that ends their fun.' She thought.

"Yeah… she had the Commander wrapped." Kayden continued.

"Who's Aurora?" Kaidia broke in. Not knowing something always did get on her nerves.

There was something about that name. When she first heard it, it sent a shiver down her spine. There was just something so familiar about it.

"She was Commander Leonhart's daughter." Ryu answered when none did. "She died when she was seven."

"…Oh… I'm sorry." She answered slowly, unsure of what to say. 'Why does that bother me?'

"Don't be." Kayden answered. "You didn't know. Just don't mention her to Leonhart… ever. If you value your existence."

"Why?" Kaidia worried aloud.

"He… had a lot of trouble dealing with what happened." Kayden answered.

"What happened?"

"She drowned, on a beach in Balamb. The Commander still blames himself." Ronna answered.

"My mom says that he always blames himself if something goes wrong, even if it isn't his fault. There was nothing he could do. One moment she was there, and the second she disappeared into the ocean. Let's talk about something else now." Breana advised. "Aurora was our friend and it's kinda upsetting to talk about her."

"I'm sorry." Kaidia answered, regretting that she had asked in the first place. 'They talk about her in the past tense… of course… she is dead.'

"It's okay." Ronna said.

"I have a little more news." Ryu started suddenly.

When he had everyone's attention, he continued. "I ran into Instructor Bane in the halls before I came here. He told me that it's alright if we discuss the incident among ourselves as long as it's with people we trust. And, apparently, Galbadia Garden AND Trabia Garden officials couldn't come to a decision, so late last night they all decided to bring it up to Balamb Garden! Meaning Mom and Dad are going to flip when they hear this."

"Not just your parents." Kayden started. "Mine too."

"And let's not forget about Commander Squally… I mean Commander Leonhart!" Bre started. "Mom's habits really do rub off!"

"Don't let him hear you call him that." Toby advised. "He argues with Mom enough about that… and plus he's kinda scary; even when he's trying to be nice."

"He can be nice!" Kayden exclaimed in shock. "To whom?"

"To people he likes." Toby answered.

"Well… he doesn't seem so nice to me." Kayden insisted.

"Well, I guess we know where you stand with him." Breana laughed.

"Figures… you are Seifer's son." Ronna continued.

"Yeah. Betcha his first thought when he hears about this report is that it's somehow my fault." Kayden answered.

"There's nothing worth betting there." Ryu continued. 'You'd win hands down."

"He gives me such a bad rep." Kayden complained.

"No… that was you." Ryu corrected. "He gave you the benefit of the doubt and you disabused him of that notion."

"I did not!" Kayden argued.

"What about the cafeteria incident, the balloon incident, the fire cavern incident…" Ryu trailed off taking a deep breath. "The hallway incident, the…"

"Are you going to name off all my pranks in Balamb Garden?"

"No… that would take all day…" Ryu explained before looking thoughtful. "And all night… and all of the next day too."

"Ha Ha." Kayden muttered. "I wasn't that bad."

"You were." Ronna said.

"You guys really know him that well?" Kaidia asked, feeling left out.

"Who?" Breana answered looking confused.

"Commander Leonhart."

"I guess so." Bre answeredS

"So he's like a celebrity." She hedged.

"I guess so. I never thought of him as such… but I guess he is." Ronna agreed.

"But you know him?" Kaidia asked once more.

She always felt left out when they talked about Balamb and their relationships with their nice parents. She knew it wasn't done deliberately though so she really didn't take offense. But still, listening to their stories always awoke a longing inside of her, a deep wish that she held for as long as she could remember, and a question that couldn't be answered. Kaidia always longed for nice parents...and wondered why she was treated the way she was.

She had gone through enough therapy to know that it wasn't her fault; her first Garden had ensured that. But still she wondered. 'What if I am adopted? Where are my real parents? Where am I supposed to be?'

"Yep, yep." Bre perked up. "He's close friends with our parents after all. I think the closest I ever came to offending him was when I called him Unkie Squally in public when I was three."

Toby immediately burst out laughing. "I remember hearing about that. Mom said it took her weeks to teach you how to say that. She was so little that she got away with it."

"And he still carries a grudge?" Kaidia deadpanned.

"I don't think so… more like he'll never forget it." Breana corrected immediately. "Besides, all he really did was blame my mom."

Toby laughed at the memory. "She was laughing so hard she fell down…"

"And so was my dad, until Bre called him Unkie Sefie." Kayden chuckled. "Dad still gets embarrassed when Mom reminds him of it."

"Is… he as bad as his reputation makes him out to be?" Kaidia continued with her line of questions.

"Nah…" Kayden said. "Not once you get to know him. He can be intimidating though, especially if you've broken a rule."

"Which he knows from personal experience." Ronna answered. "Thanks to you, the Balamb SeeD manual is air tight. Good luck finding a technicality around those rules."

"Well… as far as I know… the 'Be' problem still exists." Kay said at leisure.

"Better hope he doesn't find out about your nightly romps outside Garden." Toby teased.

"It's not nightly. Usually only four nights a week. Anymore than that and Kay couldn't keep up." Kaidia spoke, directing the comment to the Gutter minded people in the room… in this case, all of them.

Bre squealed loudly as Kayden blushed deeply at the comment.

"So what would he say about the actual absconding from Garden?" She asked.

"He'd be annoyed that someone found a way around his 'rules.' But I don't think anyone's ever seen him pissed…or even mad for that matter." Kayden answered for the rest.

"Yeah…when he's somewhere near angry, he goes really calm and quiet." Ryu said. "And when he's like that… it's usually a wise idea to run and hide. But he has the longest fuse I've ever seen. No matter what Kayden did in Garden, he only raised his voice slightly to him once."

"And once was all I needed." Kayden answered.

"If he goes calm and quiet… how do you know he's mad?" Kaidia asked. "Isn't he calm and quiet normally?"

"The temperature drops 20 degrees or so." Kayden supplied. "But it's only a rumor… he has a way of making it quite obvious if he's pissed… or so I've been told."

"I don't think that Seifer has ever seen him mad. And he's been trying to piss the Commander off for years." Ryu continued.

"I don't know. I think my dad came close every time he left his Hyperion in odd places for him to fix the trigger. I heard he got real mad when he woke up from a nap and it was lying next to him on the bed with a sign that said 'Fix Me' with an arrow pointing at the trigger." Kay smirked at the memory.

"Yes… but he did fix it…" Bre answered.

"Yeah, after he chased my dad around Garden with his own Gunblade for three hours!" Kayden said in outrage.

"As I heard, he woke up with the sharp side a centimeter away from his face." Toby answered. "The Commander was yelling something about Seifer trying to give him another scar."

"Another scar?" Kaidia asked.

"He has this real deep scar between his eyes, from my dad's gunblade. They were near our age when it happened. But Squall did get my dad back; he's got one that runs in the opposite direction."

"So… when you get to know him… he's fine?"

They all stared at her before they broke into laughter. Kaidia stared at them, wondering what she had just said now to set them off now. 'Did I just miss a joke!'

"Relax…" Kayden spoke finally, gasping for air. "Squall has this pet phrase… well two actually, my Mom calls them Squallisms. One's 'Whatever,' when he can't figure out what to say. And the seconds' 'I'm fine,' even when he's not. He could have a bullet in his chest and he'd say he's fine if you asked him how he was."

"…Oh…ooo-kay?" Kaidia muttered, still missing the humor of the situation.

"You just kinda sounded like him… it was a weird moment."

"Why all the questions all of the sudden? Kayden asked

"Well… if this incident does go up to Balamb Garden, there might be a chance I'll have to talk to him…" she sighed. "I think…he's the first person I'm actually afraid to meet."

"He's not going to bite your head off."

"But…he sounds…"

"His bark is worse than his bite?" Kayden offered.

"…What?"

"Well… he's cold and only opens up to certain people. But I don't think he would intentionally try to scare you. He really is a nice man." Ronna proclaimed.

"If you say so…" Kaidia wasn't so sure, but she kept those reservations to herself.

"You know, if you do end up talking to Commander Leonhart, it would be a perfect opportunity to talk to him about Verauan." Kayden spoke.

"Me! Why me!" Kaidia sputtered. "I don't want to talk to him as is and you want to bring that up too? You really are trying to make me out as a problem child!"

"You don't need my help with that." Kayden announced.

"I was an obedient and orderly Cadet before I met you." She argued.

"And probably extremely bored."

"Whether I was bored or not is not important. I didn't break any rules. And if I told Commander Leonhart that I would almost have to tell him the entire history behind our absconding from Garden. But with what happened…" She broke off.

"Just bring up his favouritism." Kayden waved off before taking an expression of utter seriousness. "We have to do this. It's gone too far, and everyone's lost too much. We all could have been killed, and not just with that thing… it was too much and it's his fault."

"I know, but how am I supposed to prove it?"

Kayden sighed and then went quiet.

"I'll try if I have the chance. But not in the first debriefing… that will be hard enough."

In the company of her friends, the first difficult day after the painful experience that she, Kayden and Ryu had undergone just yesterday, began to steadily move on. Friends were good at doing that; making a horrible situation tolerable and as the day ticked on and her friends talked in the small apartment or played cards or other games that had randomly shown up during her stay at Garden, it felt as if it would be okay. And maybe there would be a way through the whole ordeal.


	14. Chapter 14

Squall Leonhart stared at the 'thing' lying on his desk, with a weary eye and a slight frown marring his features. There it lay looking like an innocent piece of paper, but it was the writing on it that concerned him. There in large letters, on the front cover page of the fax was both the endorsements of Galbadia and Trabia Garden. That was concerning on its own, but the message beneath it really worried him. It read 'URGENT!' in big and angry red tones. 

Squall's frown deepened and found himself wondering if he should try to change his approach of the somehow intimidating piece of paper. Maybe if he approached it from behind it wouldn't explode and drag him into the center of whatever argument had erupted between the largest and smallest Garden. Maybe if he was cautious in his approach he wouldn't have to deal with the two Gardens bickering and demanding his own attention on the issue. 'I have enough to do already, I don't need this! Maybe…if I ignore it… it will go away.' He thought hopefully.

After a moment of trying to ignore the dangerous looking piece of paper, trying to turn his attention off of it, his mind wandered back. 'Well… it is my responsibility.'

Whatever it was, it looked dangerous to the forty year old man. The Commander of the oldest Garden pondered taking out one of his many backup daggers from the hidden locations in his coat and prodding the 'innocent' piece of paper, checking to see if it would explode the way it almost promised to do.

His frown deepening further, he removed his black leather trench coat and laid it on a hook near the door. Rinoa had complained when he had bought the new coat, and started wearing it constantly instead of the short bomber jacket, with the white fur at the collar. He now wore a steady grey thin sweater, black pants, black boots and of course black leather gloves. Not much had changed on the steady Commander over the last twenty three years. 'I might as well get this over with.' He sighed to himself.

With that, he picked up the paper and took off the first page. It was a brief report sent by the elderly Headmaster of Galbadia Garden. Only a few sentences long. But in his years of experience in the role of Commander of Balamb forces, he knew that a short report like this almost stated bluntly that he would be forced to call over to the Headmaster to get into the real issue.

Also, with his years of experience on human nature, he had slowly begun to realize that it was almost with a childlike innocence that the younger Gardens, when presented with an issue they could not solve on their own, would delight in bringing it to his attention and would watch with trusting eyes as he struggled to find a solution. It was human nature to bring things like this up to the highest authority, and unfortunately for him, he was the highest authority. He had to get out of this job.

Squall read over the first lines of the report, turning them around in his mind as he did. 'The Galbadian SeeD exam was held yesterday. An incident, involving a Cadet in Squad A has forced Galbadia Garden to hold up the entire grade for this year!'

Squall sat back and pondered that. 'Sounds like Kayden.'

He leaned forward, pinching the bridge of his nose with his left hand before continuing to read. There was already a headache forming in his consciousness over this topic.

'The actions of the Cadet involved were severe enough that Galbadia found it necessary to bring in Trabia Garden as a mediator, but they still didn't get anything done… Of course. I still hate you for this job, Cid…' He mentally cursed the late Headmaster of Balamb Garden. 'Definitely sounds like Kayden. But why bring in Trabia first? Kayden's' old Garden was Balamb. Maybe Martine was actually trying to keep my workload down?'

Taking a breath, knowing that he was not going to like the last words of the brief report he continued. 'Cadet Maeda's actions involving her Squad leader could be viewed as voluntary manslaughter by the courts.' What actions! It wasn't Kayden! This gives me no information! Martine, what's your game?' Squall wondered to himself.

When he was done reading, he sat back stumped. The report gave no real information on what the action was, nor background for it, and Galbadia and Trabia officials wanted to hold a Tribunal to determine Garden's position on the matter. 'Probably here, if I know my luck, and how much Hyne seems to like me. What position could we have? This Cadet either acted in a manner that deliberately killed her Squad leader or she didn't. There's no middle ground, and Martine has almost forced me to have to call him over this. I better call Xu in for this one too; it does involve a cadet.'

With that, Squall reached forward and hit the intercom, and the dark haired woman entered a few minutes later. He gave her a few minutes to read through the brief report before raising an eyebrow at her.

"That was largely uninformative." Xu muttered under her breath. "Go ahead and call. You might as well before we have both Gardens tying up the phone lines looking for your answer."

Squall sighed once more. Everyone was being relatively unhelpful that day. He had already had a bad morning to begin with. Waking and slipping out of bed, trying not to stir his sleeping wife, he missed the dozing dog known as Dax and tripped over him just as he escaped the bed, tangling the sheets with him as he fell. Said dog yelped in surprise, waking up his owner, and immediately pretended to be injured, limping around on one paw for the benefit of his concerned wife. Rinoa bought the whole act, and cuddled the whining 'puppy' protectively while glaring at him.

'So far two bad things have happened. Only one more until Hyne's limit is fulfilled until tomorrow.'

With a sigh, he picked up the phone, and dialed the secure connection to the Headmaster's line. There were a few rings before the phone was answered.

"Hello Commander." Martine addressed without the SeeD having said a word.

"Martine. What's going on? You're report doesn't tell me anything." Squall broke in, not wanting to get involved with pleasantries of normal conversation. It was too early for that, and he still had not received his daily intake of caffeine.

He already had enough to do today, and this issue looked like it would take some more time out of the day that he didn't have to spend on it. 'Then there's Rinoa.'

As he had left their apartment for the day, Rinoa had made him promise that he would be back for lunch, in return for not making him sleep on the couch for hurting her precious pet. He knew, well enough, that whenever Rinoa forced him to sleep on said couch, the dog would happily steal his spot on the bed. He swore he almost saw the triumphant gleam in Dax' eyes when he left the room.

"Well, as the report said, there was an incident involving a student at our Garden during the SeeD exam."

"I need more details than that." Squall stated bluntly. "Don't quote what's said in the report."

"You'll need the background to fully understand the circumstances. I'm not trying to stall your time, Squall. But it is a sensitive issue."

"We're all ears, Headmaster Martine." Xu answered.

"Xu?"

"Martine. The incident. Please." Squall sighed out.

He was almost sure that the elderly man seemed to be hesitating on how to report this to him, and now he wanted to know why. The bad day had gotten worse if Martine was actually unsure of how to tell him something.

"Alright." The man sighed into the phone. "The final SeeD exam was excessive; it placed far too much responsibility on the candidates. I did not agree with it personally, but was outvoted by the majority faculty and the Commander."

'Wonderful.' Squall thought. 'Martine's losing his control over the faculty. What else can go wrong?'

"We received a distress call from Dollet, saying that an unknown enemy army was trying to invade through the mountain range separating the two countries-"

"How?" Squall broke in.

"By using the largely uncharted caverns in the mountains." Martine answered promptly. "The enemy army was divided into larger - several larger – sections, separated by a small section of runners, to deliver messages between the two groups."

Squall already did not like the direction this was heading in, and by the disapproving look on Balamb's Headmistress' face, she had also put together what may have occurred. 'They better not have given out the mission I think they did! It breaks nearly every rule in the SeeD manual!'

"There were four Cadet Squads with four members each. Their duty was to infiltrate and surround the smaller sections of the army and ensure that no message was delivered or left to a larger section of the army."

'Damn… why can't I be wrong once and awhile!' Squall thought to himself.

"So you sent inexperienced cadets into a battle with an unknown enemy! What if a message had broken through!" He said aloud, Xu nodded in agreement.

"Then the larger groups of SeeDs and Dollet soldiers would fail in their attempt to surround the larger groups of enemy soldiers."

"You tied the entire success of the mission on whether or not all the cadets would be able to carry out that order! Are you insane! That was asking for something horrible to happen!" Squall continued in an irate tone.

"Well, all the cadet squads passed on that order..."

"You still forced them to kill their first human without support from SeeD. Not that their situation was safe either, the entire mission was tied on their success. And if a section group failed then the whole attack would have! Who authorized this!" Squall was incensed.

Being a SeeD was risky; you played the odds of death and life all the time. But that was no reason to risk the lives of the inexperienced cadets in such a manner.

"The Commander, in the end."

"Verauan! Why didn't you stop him! You're the Headmaster of Galbadia Garden. You have final say over what the cadets can and can't do." Squall continued.

"I… tried. But my support and I were outvoted by the other faculty and the Commander. There was nothing I could do to stop it."

"And you didn't contact me with your concerns?" Squall asked.

"Respectively, Commander, even if I could have, there would have been nothing you could have done to stop the exam; not at that point."

"In the SeeD manual, section 26:9b it states that if any Garden official is deemed incompetent by others, with evidence, the events leading up to the discovery would be on hold until the matter is investigated by a tribunal."

"Not in our SeeD manual, Squall. My hands were tied."

"And you let that stop you from trying to help your cadets?" Squall asked. "There are times when leaders have to take control. You could have ordered them to stay."

"The Commander would have ordered them to leave… and that split in authority would bring the administration of Galbadia Garden crashing down."

Squall closed his eyes, wishing he had just stayed in bed. Why did these things always have to happen to him, around him or with him in charge? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? And what made it worse, was Martine actually had a point there. 'Maybe his hands were tied. But he should have tried harder to protect his cadets. It is his responsibility to them as their Headmaster. Garden can't threaten the lives of its students like that! I made sure of it!'

"I knew it would place all the cadets in danger, but I was outmaneuvered." Martine continued on the phone. "The squad in question is Squad A. Their members were; Cadet Higa as the leader, Cadets Dincht, Trepe, and the Cadet that has inadvertently caused all of this, Cadet Maeda. The day was proceeding as planned, until a little after the order to withdraw came. Cadet Higa was too far ahead and the Squad couldn't risk calling out to him to slow him in risk of their location being found by the enemy soldiers, nor could they catch up. Cadet Higa had frozen during the first human wave and hadn't completely recovered by that point; thus he had been moving too incautiously for his own safety. Cadet Higa ran head long into an eight person group of highly trained soldiers; two of them had him pinned before the final three members of the Squad caught up."

"You expected all the members of the Squad to behave normally, as if nothing had happened!" Squall continued into the phone. "You don't know what it does to someone of their age to kill their first human. Did you expect them to be machines? That's not what we train them for."

"This seemingly lack of concern for the entire graduating year's safety is disgusting!" Xu continued, following Squall's argument. "The rules clearly state that it goes against any form of safety to put people without that experience in a crucial role for the attack. You were asking for something to happen, and now that it has, you're surprised!"

"I certainly expected there to be repercussions. And in Squad A there were. I really tried to sway the vote, or to stop the SeeD exam, but I couldn't. Not without dividing the entire administration team of Galbadia Garden and causing discord within our Garden." Martine offered. "I'm not defending the fact that I failed the cadets involved. And I'm certainly not defending sending them into such danger. I can't change the past. But the worse case Scenario occurred, and a cadet died potentially at the hands of another."

"What do you mean potentially?" Squall asked. "Either she did kill him or she didn't… there's not much middle ground to that." Squall sighed. "And you can't just keep running to me with your problems."

"I know." Martine sighed and continued. "After the first human attack, Cadet Higa and Cadet Dincht both experienced some battle shock. Thankfully the other two were able to pull themselves together to complete the mission. Cadet Maeda took control of the Squad to allow her leader time to recover. By the time the order to withdraw came, Cadet Higa came out of his shock and took control back." Martine answered.

Squall sighed. "Carry on. Cadet Higa encountered eight enemy men and his Squad was too far behind him to assist." He edged the conversation back to the topic.

"Cadet Dincht was spotted by the men, but Cadets Maeda and Trepe were not. Cadet Maeda had Cadet Dincht continue shooting in hopes to lure the men to their location so that they were away from Cadet Higa. This worked partially, and the remaining five attacked after one was brought down by Cadet Dincht. Working together, they managed to either kill or neutralize the enemy. By the time Cadet Dincht had managed to kill off the two pinning Cadet Higa, they had injected him with a substance in a needle. The effects were that it began to eat his body alive, causing massive cavity bleeds all over his body. According to their debrief, the Squad tried all forms of magic and medical treatments they had available to them but nothing worked. Finally Cadet Maeda cast sleep on him, and thus could be charged with manslaughter. Trabia and Galbadia officials can't decide what to do in this situation."

'I'll be dammed.' Squall immediately thought in disbelief. 'She found the exact middle ground between manslaughter and mercy… perfect! But that doesn't mean that it was the right decision. If she had waited to cast the spell, an affect might have been seen or someone with more experience and stronger magic or medical items could have assisted. But he may not have survived to that point anyways, and if he had he would not have much of a life afterwards, that's assuming he survived past that incident. I'm not sure I agree with her decision. But I'm not going to disagree until I get a better sense of the topic.'

"Squad A, under Cadet Maeda's leadership managed to secure a sample of the infection to be studied and, with some help from SeeDs sent in to assist, escaped the cavern with no other injuries."

"We have a sample?" Squall asked in incredulity. 'At least that's something. Hyne's losing his touch.'

"Yes. Cadet Maeda was thinking far enough ahead to realize that her Squad may have been the only ones to have encountered this specimen, and she was right. It's under close study in our labs. So far, whatever living tissue has been fed to it, in experiments, it has destroyed in seconds. It looks as if it's a hundred percent kill rate. But that's off topic. Garden needs a position on this; either to back her decision or not to. Galbadia and Trabia tried to sort this out on our own but the votes are too close and a large number of the faculty withheld their vote at every session." Martine continued. "In short, we need the tribunal formed."

"At Balamb, right." Squall asked, feeling dread begin to take over him.

This was definitely not what he needed, but as much as Hyne hated him, this was exactly what he was going to get; officials from Trabia and Galbadia Garden as well as three extra Cadets; one of them causing so much chaos in her own Garden, one being safe at least, and the third being the menace. All he needed now was for the first and the third to be friends or involved in some sort of relationship and he would have his answer on how much Hyne had it out for him.

"It is between both Garden's and more neutral than holding the meeting Trabia or Galbadia." Martine was saying.

"Very well. I will call Trabia Garden and arrange the meeting between officials from all three Gardens." Squall sighed out. "I want the three Cadets involved as well as the tapes of their exam and their debriefings in Balamb as soon as possible."

"Yes, Sir." Martine answered.

Squall shook his head. It still shocked him when a Headmaster that was old enough to be his father, and had held his job for nearly as long as he had been alive, addressed him as their superior. It upset some internal balance he had, and still seemed wrong to him.

"Send the entire evidence over to both myself and officials at Trabia. Let's not walk into this council unprepared." Squall continued. "Is there anything else?"

"I believe that the majority of the officials are waiting to see what the parent's decision will be before they cast their vote. It is reasonable, considering what we're voting for."

"Whatever." Squall answered.

"That is reasonable…" Xu answered. "I would prefer to have a decision before the parents do, but that may be unlikely."

"Squall?" Martine questioned.

"Yes?"

"Cadet Maeda has a trained dog that she will probably wish to bring with her."

'As long as the dog is better trained than Dax.' Squall mused to himself. 'He only listens to Rin. And I swear he has it out for me. Great the dog is in league with Hyne and the rest of the world.'

"If the dog is well trained and is obedient I see no problem with the dogs' presence. Anything else?"

"No, not really. I really wish we could have spoken under better circumstances." Martine said in passing.

Squall agreed and soon the phone call ended. He turned to look at the irate Xu. "It's ridiculous what those cadets were put through. I'm not sure I agree with her decision, but with those circumstances, something was bound to happen. Garden can't treat cadets like seasoned SeeDs; it goes against several aspects of the manual. You have to do something about Verauan, Squall. If it was his decision that created this situation, then he holds some responsibility for the events that transpired." Xu ranted.

The man sighed. 'Great… more work! Thanks Hyne, I hate you too.'

"I know, Xu. I'll deal that issue after the council."

"And where do you stand, Commander?" Xu questioned.

"I'm not sure. I don't agree with Cadet Maeda's decision, but we haven't seen the entire set of evidence. So I don't know exactly what the progression of this substance was or what the cadets had been presented with in that moment. I'm not going to prejudice myself by forming a quick decision without looking at all the facts." He answered. "It would be unfair to Cadet Maeda to judge her acts without examining all the evidence first."

"Still so neutral."

"It's practical." Squall answered.

"I will inform Quistis, Seifer, Zell and Amaya of what happened. It is their children involved." Xu remarked.

Squall felt a flicker of relief. At least someone was trying to be helpful and not give him more work to do. "Good luck." He responded simply.

"I'm going to need it." Xu spoke back.

'And this will tie up weeks of my time just to sort it out.' Squall mused as Xu left. He would have to get to work soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Once again...I own nothing. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this next Chappie.

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Martine sighed and returned the phone to its cradle. He had not been surprised at the strength of the reaction from the Balamb Headmistress and, more specifically, Commander Leonhart. If it was one thing that caused the younger Commander anger, it was any form of neglect on the Cadets. Squall was right; he had failed all the Cadets involved and, partially because of him, one of the Cadets had died while three others could be held responsible for his death. If he had fought harder, then it was possible that he could have delayed enough that the proposed idea for the SeeD exam would not have occurred. He was the Master of Galbadia Garden and he had lost sight of that. Martine realized he had been more concerned with keeping the administrative team in the Garden together than protecting his students, and because of that one had died. He promised himself he would not fail another, and no matter what decision the Garden made about the case it was presented with, he would protect the young girl as much as he could from the fall out of her decision.

He had witnessed the SeeD exam tapes, and had seen the devastating effects of the infection on Suzu's body. If it was enough to sicken him just watching from video, he never wanted to find out what it was like actually to be a personal witness of someone's death to such a vile concoction. He found himself wondering at the images that had recorded themselves in the memories on the three surviving cadets. How traumatic the memories would be for them, being so young and expected to handle so much. The Commander of Galbadia Garden had expected them to carry on as if nothing had happened after their first human kill, seemingly having lost sight of the relative age of those he was deliberately sending into danger.

Martine wondered, when the idea had originally been proposed, if it wasn't an obvious attempt to thrust several of his favorites into the spotlight, having survived so much and still managing to complete their mission. Verauan was not above gloating to the smaller Gardens on how his Cadets were doing, and especially what Cadets he had. It may be better to remove Kayden and Kohana from his influence than have them potentially in more danger, as the Commander would certainly try to place them in missions above their experience. 'That's assuming that the two become SeeDs at all… there could still be charges pending.'

He sighed once more over the situation, and without waiting a moment longer, he called through to the smallest Garden. This conversation was short; just an acknowledgement that Commander Leonhart had received their message, and a tribunal had been suggested. There was no blame here as Jemsia answered the phone having just freed herself from the seemingly calm Commander of Balamb.

That was something Martine noticed about Squall; he never seemed to take his anger out on those not involved in the situation. Sadly, Squall had every right to express his annoyance to the elder male; he had failed in one of his responsibilities as Headmaster. 'I have to get out of this job. When this is over, I'll suggest to Squall that a new headmaster be found. I'm too old for this and don't have the energy anymore.'

He hit the intercom once more, paging Instructor Bane and his three students to his office. Once done, Martine leaned back and waited for the four to arrive. It wasn't long before the door opened and they stepped through, each falling into a SeeD salute automatically and the dog, Bast, once more sitting proudly at his owner's side. Martine smiled internally. He had at least called that one right. Kohana would object to leaving her pet in the care of others. The dog was a comfort to her, and Martine knew in this situation all three Cadets needed as much comfort as they could get. Two of the three would have the comfort of their parents, but the third had no record of parents and would need something else.

He nodded and the four dropped to an attentive stance, waiting for him to speak.

"As you all have probably heard by now, the situation is at a stand still. Both Trabia Garden and Galbadia Garden cannot reach a consensus and we have just called Balamb Garden officials to mediate."

"Yes sir." The three Cadets chorused.

"I have just received instructions from the Commander at Balamb that there will be a tribunal formed in Balamb to discuss the results. You three are expected to speak to the tribunal, and thus you must be in Balamb as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

"Instructor Bane, you will be traveling with your students, escorted by a team of five SeeDs."

"As you wish, sir." Bane answered in a calm tone.

"Are there any questions?"

"My dog, sir. Is he allowed to come?" Kohana asked, her dog seemingly perking up at being mentioned and turning large golden eyes in his direction.

Martine could almost see the astuteness shining in the cute dog's eyes, and wondered just how smart that dog actually was. The eyes of the animal were just too intelligent at times, and seemed far too old.

"It has been arranged between myself and Commander Leonhart that your pet may come as long as he acts appropriately."

"Thank you sir."

"Anything else?" Martine asked.

"Have our parents been informed?" Kayden said, Ryu nodding in agreement.

"I am sure that Commander Leonhart will inform them of the events, as he can. You three are representatives of Galbadia Garden, I expect you to act as such."

"I am sure the Cadets understand the situation and will not bring shame upon themselves or Galbadia Garden." Bane addressed smoothly.

"With Commander Leonhart around, I think you have nothing to worry about." Kayden muttered before flashing an almost cheeky grin.

Martine frowned to himself, recognizing the smirk that was just below the eldest boy's expression, and by the look of almost horror that flickered over Kohana's face, she too knew that look well. Kayden had figured out the loophole in his neatly given order to behave while out of his reach. Ryu, he had no worries about. But Kayden just seemed to bring out the worst in Kohana and the two were frequently at odds with the Garden and his attempts to discipline them.

He was aware of their escapes from the safe confines of the building; it was difficult not to be, but when the matter had been brought to his attention by their irate instructor, who had found them wandering outside the walls at 0100 hundred with no given excuse as to why, his attempt to rectify the situation had promptly been stopped by the almost amused Commander. He had issued his own 'punishment'; one so gentle that it could not even be considered a slap on the wrist for the two committing the worst offense. To sneak out of Garden after hours was the most dangerous activity he had ever heard of, and Martine found himself wishing that he had more control over the two gunblade specialists.

They had stopped when he had asked previously, but after a few months of silence, Kayden and Kohana fell to temptation and absconded once more. It would take a firm hand to bring them into line. They were not students at Balamb Garden, and could not be disciplined as if they were, unless he gave his permission to the heads of Balamb Garden that if caught doing an offense within their own walls, the two be treated as Cadets from their own Garden.

"I will inform Headmistress Xu and Commander Leonhart of my permission to discipline you all as Cadets at their own Garden." Martine spoke.

The smirk on Kayden's face died instantly and Kohana's almost tangible relief was evident. Martine had some knowledge on who the ringleader of the absconding from Garden was, however Kohana still allowed herself to be dragged into it and that was just as bad. When alone, the young girl was very quiet and almost withdrawn from people around her, especially adults.

He had not had any incline to what would occur to the quiet girl when placed near Kayden for an extended period of time. Kayden had succeeded in pulling Kohana out of her shell around people her own age and, slowly, with himself and her instructors; but had also managed to pull her into the majority of his own stunts. The first incline that the relationship between the two would become so chaotic, was their first meeting; when both had succeeded in placing the other in the infirmary for over a week and again a day after they were released.

"I will not tolerate any disregard of rules." Martine continued. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." The three chorused, even though his question had really been directed at the two gunbladers.

"Good." He approved. 'You two may have gotten away with your acts before, but I don't think you will now, especially if Squall catches wind of what you two have been up to.'

"Sir?" Ryu spoke up suddenly. "I don't mean to bring more into this situation, but our friends; we usually visit our parents during this time. They may want to come with us."

"Their names?" Martine asked. He already knew, but he had to ask for the record.

"Cadets Breana and Tobias Kinneas, and Cadet Ronna Dincht.' Ryu answered.

"That sounds reasonable. I will pass that onto Balamb for final consent, but I don't see a problem with them coming." Martine answered. 'Maybe, if there are enough people around that Kohana trusts, she will follow their lead with who they trust too. The last thing I need is for her to clam up and go silent again.'

"Dismissed." He called.

The three immediately saluted once more and quickly slipped from the room, leaving him with their instructor.

"Do you expect there to be a problem with the cadets, sir?" Bane asked.

"I don't blame the two if they try something. They've managed to get away with their acts here and it is reasonable to assume something will happen. Hopefully Kayden is still intimidated by Commander Leonhart and will not try to pull anything."

"That's like wishing that the sun not come up." Bane answered.

Martine sighed. "I know. Those two really do need a firm hand to disabuse them of that notion. I don't want to put that on Squall, but if he catches wind of their acts in his Garden, I think he will handle it as he sees fit."

"I almost pity Kohana, then. She has no idea of what's coming." Bane mused. "Perhaps Kayden will shield her from that."

"I doubt that." Martine spoke once more. "He tends to be the leader of the two, and she follows at will. That doesn't mean she is any less responsible for her actions. Kayden is adventurous, and with that technicality he has us with, he will try to use it to his advantage in Balamb."

"You did not inform him of the rule change?" Bane asked.

"It will be a lesson for the two." Martine informed. "They have to learn that it will not be tolerated. If I can't do it, then Balamb will have to teach them."

"Commander Verauan does not have a firm hold on the two." Bane spoke. "They do not respect him."

"They use his favouritism to their advantage." Martine pointed out.

"Not really. I have heard that both do not like the situation and, even if they were not favored by the Commander, they would still have us on the technicality and would continue to sneak out. Their absconding from Garden has nothing to do with their knowledge of the favouritism on them. Rather I think it's because of it."

"What?" Martine asked.

"You told me that Kohana came to you with concerns over Verauan. I believe that the two are trying their hardest to have him court marshaled."

"How?"

"If it becomes apparent to the other Gardens that if specific students continue in acts that would usually have them punished severely, and are hardly punished at all, then there must be something wrong with how the punishments are handled."

"It seems that almost targets me instead of Verauan." Martine muttered.

"Not really. It would investigated by a tribunal and the recorded attempt to discipline the two by yourself would be found, as well as the Commander's response to that. It would expose him as favouring those two and when more evidence came out, it would look very bad for him. The Cadets are trying to take a fall for you and the rest of the students in order to fix the situation."

"I never really viewed it that way. Both seem to just have a discipline problem." Martine spoke surprised. 'What dedication they have, if that's true.'

"Are you sure?" Martine asked.

"Very. I've been watching the two for years. They're both extremely intelligent children, and know exactly what will occur if they press hard enough at the system and its rules."

"But their attempts have failed. Commander Verauan protects them, and the faculty that support him would not bring it up to me if they do see the two leaving. Why are they continuing if they know they won't be caught?"

"That is why I didn't say anything about the rule change either." Bane answered. "Now that the two are assured that they will get away with their actions, it has become a game to them. A game that does not need to end, as there is no consequence for their actions, and none have given them a good enough reason to stop. I trust Commander Leonhart will enforce the rules harshly and tell them exactly why they are in place."

"Hopefully that will scare them out of it." Martine said.

"I doubt the punishment will scare them out of it. More like the dressing down they will receive. Leonhart is an intimidating person, even when he does not wish to be seen as such. It is likely he will scare them himself."

"But what of Kohana? She does not trust many easily, and it may cause repercussions during the tribunal if he intimidates her too much."

"I do not think he would set out to scare her, not deliberately. He would explain the rules and explain why it is so dangerous that they leave the protection of Garden at night and then issue a punishment." Bane answered before pausing as if thinking something new. "And after that, I do not think she would do anything to purposely incur his attention in that manner again, she would behave just to avoid him."

"That's sad." Martine answered. "I would not like a child to behave just because of fear."

"I don't think she will be afraid; more like she would be more cautious with him than other adults." Bane answered. "It is very hard to actually intimidate that child, but she is always cautious. She is a reasonable child. If someone like Commander Leonhart explained the actual meaning behind the rule, as well as the danger when breaking them, she would respect him enough to listen."

"Well." Martine started. "Let's just hope the two actually obey the rules, while in Balamb."

"Once again… that's wishing the sun not to rise." Bane laughed before turning to leave. "Good day, Headmaster."

"Good day, Instructor." Martine finished the conversation. "I'm going back to sleep now."

"I wish I had that chance. Don't forget, you have to call Commander Leonhart back to see if the other Cadets are allowed to accompany their friends."

Martine sighed once again and picked up the phone. He just hoped that Squall would not bite off what was left of his pride for calling twice in one day. 'I need a nap.' Martine thought as the phone rang.

"Balamb office, Ferix speaking. How may I help you, Headmaster Martine?"

"Would it be possible to speak to Commander Leonhart?" Martine asked.

He was sure he heard the familiar hum of instruments playing a funeral march as he asked the question. There was a long pause before the secretary answered.

"I can patch you in, hold on please." The woman answered.

There was a beep and then the annoyed voice of the Commander of Balamb Garden answered the phone. "What is it now, Martine?"

"I apologize for calling again, but I have just been asked by Cadet Dincht if it is possible that the rest of his friends be allowed to travel with the three."

"Who exactly?" Squall asked, a note of cautiousness creeping into his voice.

Martine almost pitied the man. Putting the group of six together was sure to cause problems, but it would reassure the three involved, that Garden was not prejudiced against them prematurely.

"Cadets Breana Kinneas, Tobias Kinneas and Ronna Dincht."

He heard the man sigh over the phone. "I don't see a problem with it."

Martine was almost sure Squall was regretting those words even as he spoke them.

"They may come, if they wish." Squall continued after a moment.

"I feel I have to warn you, Commander." Martine spoke up. "Cadet Maeda and Cadet Trepe are involved romantically."

Martine was almost sure he heard a loud slapping noise at that news, but he wasn't exactly sure. There was a strangled silence until the calm Commander answered. "I see. Anything else?"

"Cadet Trepe has a tendency to pull Cadet Maeda into situations with him. They both have spent a long amount of time in the infirmary too, due to the injuries they seem to cause the other."

"I understand."

"If a situation comes up, where the two Cadets are found breaking your Garden's rules, I would ask that you discipline them as Cadets from your own Garden. Cadet Trepe was quick enough to figure out that, unless stated otherwise, they could act as they wished in your Garden without repercussions. Both Cadets have been made aware that I would hand responsibility for them over to your Garden while they stay there."

"You expect there to be problems." It was not a question.

"I'm not sure, however this is strictly a precautionary measure. We both know exactly what Kayden is like."

"Opportunistic little menace. Does he have the opportunity to break the rules at leisure in your Garden, Headmaster?"

"He is quick enough that he has us at a technicality on one rule."

"And that is…?"

"The rule stating that Cadets are supposed to 'be' in their rooms between 2300 hundred and 0600 hundred hours."

"That rule is stated as 'stay' in Balamb. I changed it myself." Squall answered. "You're setting them up."

"I am. The Cadets believe that they can get away with their actions. I'm sorry for placing this on you, but my hands are tied."

"Why didn't you tell me there was a problem with this rule?" Squall asked.

"As you recall, I tried. But Verauan tied my hands there too."

"Another problem with your Commander? He seems to have too much control over the Garden and its faculty."

"I know. He's been pulling control away from me for years. I just noticed recently, but when I tried to bring it to your attention he stopped my attempt in procedures. I have noticed that he tends to favour some students and faculty over others."

"Gather the evidence as it exists and I will have the tribunal investigate your allegations."

"Yes sir." Martine addressed. "And the Cadets?"

"If a situation occurs, Xu or myself will handle it as we would with our Cadets."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else, while I'm here?" Squall questioned.

Martine could almost hear the barely controlled stress in his voice gathering momentum as the situation became worse and worse.

"I believe that's all."

"Good. Send all of their records onto me. I want to have a background on all the Cadets involved."

"Right away, Commander." Martine said before disconnecting.

It was going to be a long day.

This was going to be a horrible day followed by an equally horrible week. There, on the phone, Squall had his confirmation on where he stood with Hyne. Hyne not only hated him, but wanted to make his life as unpleasant as much as possible; doing everything he could think of to make this situation worse.

There was the actual SeeD exam, and the risk it placed the entire graduating year in. Following that was the events that occurred to Squad A and the entire charge of manslaughter. Then, Cadet Maeda had just managed to find the exact middle ground between the charge and mercy, until he had heard that he had been sure that no middle ground existed, and she had disabused him of that notion.

He then learned that the Commander of Galbadian forces had wrested too much control over the Garden away from its Headmaster, and was almost in complete control; enough that Verauan thought he could get away with showing favouritism to specific students. He believed that, with the idiocy that had come from Verauan during the actual SeeD exam.

And finally, Hyne confirmed his deepest suspicions and had the two discipline problems involved in a romantic and rivalry relationship with each other. They would almost certainly cause a problem in his Garden; just what he needed to deal with at the moment, with the two going from acting as boyfriend and girlfriend to trying to put the other in the infirmary as often as possible. Hopefully this situation would not become any more complicated. But with Hyne and his seeming target on himself, Squall was sure that many things that could go wrong would go wrong and at the worst possible moment, with him being the only one who could deal with it. 'Why is it always me?'

Squall sighed and picked up the faxes he had just received from Martine, on the members of Squad A's permanent records. He wasn't interested in the boys, but had requested theirs anyways. Having had Kayden and Ryu attending Balamb Garden originally, he was already familiar with them. However, the third child he had no idea on.

'So this would be Verauan's female Gunblade specialist. She's tiny! How can she possibly wield a gunblade! Well, I haven't seen her with it. I'm being judgmental. Her record states she has a lot of raw talent with it, and shows much potential. This is Martine's work not Verauan's, so it's a fair representation. She also shows a high aptitude for magic. Well, she did come from Trabia and high level magical abilities are to be expected from their Cadets. There's mention of parents living in Trabia and that she entered Garden at ten. Why?' Squall mused. 'It says she's generally quiet and calm but seems to have trust issues with people her age and more specifically with adults. Perfect.'

There was nothing else in the girl's records. Whatever reason she had entered Garden was not recorded, and Squall's eyebrow shot up in response. That was out of nature for the policies regarding the entry of children into Garden. Usually, the parents entered their children or they were recently orphaned and no other place was available. Children that were found to be abused were only accepted if there was counseling set up. But this said nothing.

The last thing that was noted in the record was the relationship and its diversity that existed between Kayden and the girl. It appeared to start as a rivalry between the only two children to take up the challenge of a gunblade, which ended with the two spending a lot of time in the infirmary together due to the injuries they had caused. And then the romantic relationship had suddenly developed a year or so after the girl had transferred to Galbadia Garden.

'Leave kids alone together long enough and something usually happens along those lines, if they're already attracted to each other. Especially as Kayden seems to be out to make her the female version of himself. Just what I need; the menace and one in training.'


	16. Chapter 16

Here's Chapter 16. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter too. Sorry for the long...long...long delay.

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Kayden stood, watching as the day dawned once more. There he stood, with Kohana leaning sleepily into him, her dog sitting next to her and the rest of his friends surrounding the group. Further on stood their cautious Instructor, along with a group of five other people that Kayden was not familiar with, dressed in the finest Galbadian SeeD uniforms. A tiny black speck on the horizon was what those standing on the platform were waiting for.

It was only a day after they had gotten the news that the tribunal was being formed in Balamb Garden and they were expected to speak for their actions. This would not be easy on his girlfriend. She found it hard to speak to adults, especially ones that she did not have a history with, and would frequently grow quiet and extremely introverted under such situation. Thankfully, in the tribunal, there would be many Kohana knew; from her previous stay at Trabia Garden, as well as those from Galbadia. 'But if she was that quiet when I met her, she was probably worse in Trabia. I bet she never even met the Headmistress and barely spoke to her instructors. And even worse, Commander Leonhart will be the one asking the questions. He's scary enough by himself and doesn't need the help of the tribunal to terrify her.'

Kayden knew why Martine had handed over authority of them to Balamb Garden. With his history of breaking as many rules as he could possibly find, it made sense. So all he had to do was only break the ones he held a technicality over. He really wanted to show Kohana the Balamb beaches at night, when there was no one else around and the stars reflected off the water like glowing metal spikes. It was a nice sight, watching the moon and the stars over the water, sending flickering reflections over the surface.

There was also the fire cavern and the dangerous beauty of the lava pools that had once been the home to a Guardian Force. Kayden found himself wondering if all the Guardian Forces had been found already by his parents and their friends. As he had learned, there were only a few weaker ones missing, and one that bore no recorded name but appeared in the shape of a wolf. The missing wolf Guardian Force was stated as belonging to the gentler side of Hyne, and had vanished shortly after the power she had been blessed with was passed to the first sorceress so long ago in history that the year was not known. The wolf was stated as being the first Guardian and was the actual lord of all that came hence. Kayden doubted it existed, that was only a story told to others. He was aware that attempts had been made to discover if there was truth behind the rumored wolf Guardian Force, but all had failed in locating it, and thus probably did not exist, except for in stories.

But what if it where unbound? The GF could then appear in any form it wished and with any person as well. 'It might appear in a form close to its original.' He mused. 'So something in the form of a canine….'

Bast whined slightly at his side, and Kohana turned and knelt down beside him, stroking his black head with one hand. Bast stared up at him, golden eyes gazing solemnly into his, almost as if he were answering his question.

Kayden shook his head a moment later, moving his eyes away from the icy stare of the dog. 'What was I thinking about?' he wondered to himself. He had been thinking something, and he was pretty sure it was important, but it was as if his mind had gone blank before the discovering thought could emerge. 'I guess it wasn't too important if I can't remember what I was thinking about… I hate it when that happens!'

All of them were ready to go, having packed quickly when returning to their own dorm rooms. He and Ryu had informed the others of their group of the plan and the three that were not included began to gather what they needed too. It had not taken long; SeeDs had to be ready to be deployed at a moment's notice and could not spend valuable minutes packing essentials. What mattered more were the weapons they had. Kayden himself was holding seven backup daggers, a shuriken, and a gun, all hidden in varying places in his uniform. He also carried his Hyperion style gunblade at his waist. He wondered how the others had equipped themselves.

Of the six, he and Kohana were the most suspicious. Having dealt with so many ambushes from the monsters surrounding Galbadia Garden that they, whenever they did sneak out and even when they did not, both were usually in a half state of preparation for an expected attack. Even with six trained SeeDs along, including their Instructor, Kayden was still half wondering if an attack would come. He had surveyed their location, standing on a solitary platform not far from Garden itself, but still no where near help if they needed it. This train they would take would lead them into Deling City in a few hours and after that they would all be on their way to Timber.

This was a familiar trip to the boy; having completed it several times during his stay in Galbadia Garden to see his parents during the break. He had invited Kohana along with him, several times, but at each she had balked and had stated she would be happier staying in Galbadia then having been forced into meeting more new people. But despite this familiarity and the common occurrence, he would still watch the situation. SeeDs, after all, had to be prepared for an attack at any time.

The small speck of the quickly moving train began to close in on the platform. It was only minutes until they left.

"Got any worse case scenario's?" Kayden asked.

"Train gets used to level some of Galbadia by the resistance factions or we level some of Timber due to a terrorist attack or the train gets bombed for no particular reason other then it's possible. We all could get kidnapped and used in an anti-Garden plan…"

'My Hyne she's paranoid.' Kayden thought.

"We never did find out what happened to the enemy army." Kohana continued. "They could be planning an assault on Garden, and use us as captives or just kill us in revenge for their attack on Dollet failing."

"You are paranoid." Ryu announced, seemingly following his thoughts.

"Instructor Bane says that SeeDs are born paranoid and curious." Kohana answered back.

"How true." Kayden responded, noting that the entire group was now listening to their conversation. "But you take it to an extreme."

"I do not!!! Everything I've said was a reasonable assumption!"

"But you've probably considered all and what you would do in each situation." Ronna spoke, continuing with the teasing talk.

"I only got to what I would do if the train was attacked, nothing further." Kohana defended.

"You think too much." Breana concluded. "It's not healthy! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Enough so that you'll believe it?" Kohana questioned back, in a falsely sweet tone.

"Hey… that wasn't very nice. You're supposed to be the cute but serious one of the group."

"I am?"

"Yep yep. The one good at getting us out of trouble."

"Since when?!"

"Since you're the smallest, and adults would still consider you to have a child's cuteness."

"Are you calling me a child?!"

"Well… the height thing threw me." Breana continued.

"Shouldn't talk like that Bre." Toby broke in. "If mom heard you, she'd be mad, and you're not too much taller than mom."

"Yeah. Thankfully we got a tall dad that evened out mom's genes." Breana continued.

"Or I'd be shorter than what I am." Toby responded, shivering at that thought.

"You're both taller than I am." Kohana pointed out.

"Then you got screwed on height with both parents." Toby answered.

"Both my parents are tall."

"You said you thought you were adopted." Ronna began curiously.

"Well… I don't know for sure. There could be a repressed brunette gene in my family, and as the darker tones are dominant over lighter..." She trailed off there. 'If there was a repressed dark hair gene on one side of my family, one of my parents should have had dark hair, but their both as blonde as Kayden.'

"Do any of your grandparents have dark hair?" Kayden asked.

"No…. not from what I remember. I never met them though."

"Really?" Ryu asked. "We don't have grandparents, don't worry about it."

"Yeah. I… only saw them in pictures and film."

"Well… I'd say that's enough evidence that you were adopted." Kayden thought out loud. "Ever think to find your real parents?"

Kohana sighed. "If I was adopted, it must have been for a reason. Maybe they were young when they had me and couldn't support a baby. Maybe they weren't good parents and I was removed from their care. Maybe they died. Maybe they never wanted me."

'Whatever orphanage gave her to those people should be shut down!' Kayden thought to himself. 'It's their fault she has such a hard past to get over and barely trusts anyone!'

"Well then, they're idiots!" Ryu defended. "If they didn't take the chance to get to know you then they don't deserve one now."

"I would still like to see them." Kohana mused. "Just to know that I was supposed to belong somewhere; and to see if I looked like them or acted like them. I wouldn't tell them who I was though." She stopped for a moment before continuing with that thought. "But from what I know, I am their daughter. If I was adopted they never told me, and I don't have any information to go on. I don't know where I came from or what orphanage gave me to them. I don't even know my real name; they probably renamed me as they wanted. I don't think I'll ever meet my real parents."

"Does Kohana feel like your name?" Ronna asked.

"It's a name. I don't feel anything for it." Kohana answered. "What about you, Kayden? Any scenario's I haven't considered?"

Kayden blinked at the sudden change in conversation, but accepted the matter as being closed. "Just one that would be so horrible that we would all wish death." Kayden said.

"What?" Breana spoke up.

"You singing the train song."

Breana glowered at him, while he stood there smirking back.

"Train song?" Kohana asked, bringing his attention back to her. "The train's coming; does it have anything to do with that?"

"No. It's just a song Mom taught her, that she likes to annoy us with." Toby answered.

Breana took a breath. "Train, train. Take us away."

"Oh no… it begins." Kayden muttered.

"This is your fault." Ryu responded. "We, that still have ears after this, swear revenge!"

"Take us away… FAR AWAY!!!" Breana continued.

Beside them, Instructor Bane started as the song continued to get louder and louder.

"What did you say? I can't hear over the screeching." Kayden remarked.

Breana smacked the back of his head before taking in the final breath. "TO THE FUTURE WE WILL GOOOOO!!!! There was that so bad?"

"It's over?!" Toby remarked. "My ears aren't bleeding yet. YAY!!!"

"I hear ringing… only ringing." Kayden responded.

"You're lucky you can hear that." Ryu continued.

"You guys are mean….You – You- You Meanies!!!"

Kohana and Ronna exchanged looks and shrugged, both looked slightly bored.

"Mom really rubbed off on her." Toby answered. "And no, it's not that bad, Sis. It's just fun to tease you."

"TRAIN, TRAIN!!!!"

"Was it absolutely necessary for you say that, Toby?" Ryu asked. "That just got her going again!!! Now we will all suffer."

"TAKE US AWAY!!!!!!"

"I was just trying to be nice!" Toby defended.

"TAKE US AWAY!!!! FAR AWAY!!!!!!"

"Well it failed." Ryu spoke.

Kayden would have said that, except he was too busy plugging his ears to bother answering.

"TO THE FUTURE WE WILL GOOOOOOO!!! ONE MORE TIME!!!!"

"No…" Kohana almost whimpered, placing her hands to the temples of her forehead.

"What's going on over there?" A familiar voice questioned.

Kayden turned around, followed quickly by the rest and fell into the SeeD salute.

"They're teasing me, Sir." Breana informed pouting slightly when she said that.

Martine's expression faded until a softer amused look flickered in over his aged face. "As much as I appreciate the singing, the train is just arriving and we will have to board soon."

The group nodded and, as the dark train pulled up ahead of them, sending an ominous shadow over the group, none found any humor in the situation. They were heading back to Balamb, not for a holiday, but to support their friend. This was bound to be an uncomfortable vacation, no time for relaxing at all. With the stress of having to speak at the tribunal growing ever more as the time ticked away that the council would begin.

Single file, they followed their amused Headmaster through the rich and lavish interior of the train and into a sitting area. It was coloured dark blue mostly. A dark blue thick throw rug, with flickers of white and silver tones within it, was positioned over the dark wood finishing on the floor. There were several pictures situated on the walls behind them, showing softly painted scenes of nature and one scene of the Garden. On the door there was a carving of the SeeD insignia, a symbolic mixing of light and dark.

The decorated sitting room came with two large white couches, with dark blue blankets folded in the corner, in case a SeeD personal wanted to nap on the train. The three dark wooden tables sat in the center of the room, large enough to spread a fairly large area map over all three, in case strategic planning had to occur before the group reached their destination. A curtain separated the window from the light outside, sending an opaque shadow throughout the room.

On the opposite side of the room, stood framed maps of the surrounding country. Kayden could just make out Galbadia Garden and Deling city on the furthest ones.

Martine excused himself once more, and went to sit with the adults, who were just across the hall from their own room. They would be checked in on multiple times during this trip by their headmaster and their instructor. Kayden wandered further into the room, watching from the corner of his eye as Ryu and his sister took up one couch, while the Kinneas children occupied the other. He followed Kohana up to the maps of the country and watched her serious eyes taking in as much detail as possible.

"What are you doing?" He questioned finally, when she did not speak.

"If the train does get attacked and we are separated from the SeeDs and the Headmaster, we should have some knowledge of the land in case we have to find our way to Timber. I didn't think to look at a map of Galbadia." She answered.

"Do you think that's going to happen?" Kayden remarked in disbelief.

"You never know. It's better to be slightly prepared for every situation then find yourself in one you have not prepared for at all."

'Where have I heard that before?' Kayden mused to himself. "You're right." He responded. "I'd rather be prepared too. Need help?"

"Two people's memories are better than one. If we both have a sense of the lay of the land it would be more beneficial if the worst case scenario occurs. I think the others would laugh at us if we tried to get them up here though."

"It will be fine." Kayden reassured.

"I'm not so sure." Kohana said.

The conversation died there as the two continued studying the maps. He tried to memorize as much as he could, despite his thoughts on how small a chance her concerns would come true. 'If it makes her feel better…' he thought. 'She's just worrying over the tribunal and the Garden's decision. But Kohana knows she can't do anything about that, so she's trying to worry about something she can do something over? How confusing! Mom would like her. Now that's a scary thought! Maybe it's not such a good idea to let her meet mom; they're gonna team up on me. Especially since Mom knows that she's my girlfriend! How did she get me to admit that!!! I'm so screwed! Dad's going to rub my face with this!!! I'll never live it down!'


	17. Chapter 17

I know I said on monday. But I got stuck on the chapters of one of my other stories and I was hoping to post the three at the same time...which is why this one is a little late. I just decided it wasn't worth waiting while I struggled, so here is the next chapter. Thanks for waiting.

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Deling city was huge. It didn't matter how many times he stopped in this city on way to visit his parents in Balamb, Ryu was still shocked at the size of the sprawling metropolis. There were buildings as far as the eye could see, each going up several stories, with dark bricks and large inviting windows. The people moved around quickly, as if they thought that their business was so earth shattering that they could push others out of their way. People didn't stop to say hello to each other, didn't bother to learn their neighbour's names and were only concerned with their lives. 'That's what's wrong with large cities, there's no communication.' The dark haired blonde thought to himself.

Already the group had been bumped into on several different occasions; he had seen both Kayden and Kohana reach for backup knives whenever someone approached them and got too close. Ryu mentally shook his head at the pair; they were both very jumpy individuals and when placed together they seemed to feed off the others paranoia and become more cautious, if that was possible.

'But that's what being a SeeD is about, going through life always half way expecting the person standing next to you to attack at any time for any reason. What a way to live. It's perfect for those two; they have the personality for it. But what about me, I don't like the idea of going through life half ready for an attack.'

He had frozen during the SeeD exam once he had seen who he would be firing at. It was not a monster, or a shooting range target, but a human. Someone who's life was like his. Someone who had a home, had siblings, had friends and family, had fun… had lived, and he had been expected to shoot them down like animals. He had, when it was necessary to complete the mission, shooting four people down. One so that a report would not get back to the runner group about the presence of SeeD in the caves and the last three from the group of trained soldiers that had attacked them in the caves when all he wanted to do was leave.

Ryu had spent so much time wondering if he had not been just a little faster would the one holding the substance have been able to inject it into Suzu. Would his squad leader have lived if he had gotten there faster and completed the harsh duty of picking off the last two soldiers? Was it his fault that Suzu died? Was it wrong to be happy that he survived?

'I want to talk to Kayden and Kohana alone, without the others around. They're the only ones that understand. They were there and saw what I saw and they know…'

The group of six was standing on a train platform, now waiting for the connection train that would complete their journey to Timber city. It had been a five hour journey on train to Deling city and another overnight trip was waiting for the group.

He had watched the two gunbladers while on the first train, from the couch he had shared with his sister. They had stood for nearly the entire trip looking over the detailed maps that donned the walls in their compartment. Kayden had slowly slipped an arm around the waist of his girlfriend at some point during their minute study of the map. What they were looking at, Ryu had no idea, but with what he understood about the pair's large paranoia, it was probably following up with one of the girl's scenarios she had listed while waiting for the train to arrive. But she hadn't listed one that involved knowledge of Galbadia and its surrounding nations.

There was no talking between the friends as they waited, and even as the train arrived and Breana burst into another excited rendition of the train song, there was silence. Ryu found himself getting jumpy as it continued; it was as if he too was becoming suspect to the paranoia that the leaders of the group suffered from.

It did not get any better as the two leaders of the group continued to communicate without the necessary words that most needed to speak, unaware that he was looking to them for guidance. It was like boyfriend and girlfriend had known each other for longer than the three years they had been together, like some older relationship had been rekindled by their meeting. They were always able to read the other and talk with their eyes alone.

He found himself incredibly curious to see what Kohana would do when Kayden finally asked her to marry him. 'Hopefully that will be years away. They're both still teenagers. But I have never seen a relationship like the one they have; the love or the devotion. There's no chance their going to break up now or ever. They're in too deep, and won't let go.'

Ryu found himself wondering why he followed Kohana. Why he listened to her during the horrible SeeD exam when everything else had gone wrong. Why she had been able to reach him, when his panic was threatening to swallow him in the tension of the moment and never release him. She had broken through and managed to get him to listen when even he did not think he could.

There was something about her, something so engrained that it made everyone who knew her want to follow her and made them listen to her, even at the worst moments. There was something he trusted about her, some instinct that told him that she would never intentionally lead them wrong, and that is why she became the true leader of their group. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth if she called it from him, especially after what happened in that cavern. They would all follow her, if she called it from them.

Ryu continued musing as he followed his friends onto the new train, decorated in the same pattern as the last one they were on. In place of the dark blue it was now furnished in deep red tones. The dark red carpet, instead of making him think of a peaceful home setting, now reminded the boy of the blood he had spilt in the SeeD exam and what he had seen happen to Suzu. The boy's blood spewing out of his mouth, out of openings in his body as the substance ate away at his living skin… Ryu shuddered at the images as they replayed once more.

The room was supposed to be peaceful, but right now it generated a tension that was felt between all the friends. There was a set of bunk beds in the corner, with deep red sheets on them, and red curtains to block out the light in the room. The only relief to the red colouring was the white pristine couches that donned the rooms.

Kayden practically dragged Kohana away from the maps donning the walls and sat with a protective arm around her shoulders on one of the couches, half comforting and half to keep her from being able to continue her study of the maps. Ryu followed the pair, sitting on the opposite side to the black dog that took up the other side of his owner.

Bast raised a sleepy eye to him and Ryu patted him, following the thick fur down his body with his fingers. The dog wagged in contentment and closed its eyes once more, shifting closer to him, probably hoping for more attention. Ryu hoped that this would be a subtle signal to his other friends that he wanted to speak to his squad alone. He sent a desperate look over to his twin, who nodded at his silent request to leave for awhile.

"I'm going to look around." Ronna said suddenly. "C'mon Bre, Toby. Let's see what there is to eat."

There was a loud growl that came from the afore mentioned boy's stomach at the reminder of the promise of food. He looked guilty while his sister rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a growing boy!" Toby stated hotly.

"Yeah…sure you are." Bre stated.

But none argued as they left the comforts of the room. 'Maybe they know me better than I thought. None of us have gotten a moment to think about what happened or to talk about it with each other. Well…I haven't. Kohana probably has been thinking about it from the moment it happened.'

"Did you guys want anything?" Ronna asked quietly before she left.

"Coffee." Both Kayden and Kohana said exactly at the same moment.

Kayden smiled, directed only towards the small girl he sat next to. She inclined her head back. There seemed to be something so ancient in the gesture, as if it was a learned behaviour from long ago, restarted in present times.

"Just a juice for me." Ryu spoke.

"Kay. I'll stall for long as possible."

"Thanks." He got out just as his sister finally left the room.

He turned to the other members of the Squad, trying to figure out a way to start this conversation. Ryu suddenly realized that he may be the only one that wished to speak about what happened and if he brought it up it may cause the other two to get angry. Well, it would cause Kayden to get angry over mention of something he didn't want to speak about, and it would cause Kohana to retreat internally and she would just bottle up everything inside; which would result in Kayden becoming angrier at the upset caused to his girlfriend. 'Well…there's no harm in asking. If they don't want to talk, it's up to them…'

"What's up?" Kayden asked finally when he could not speak.

"He wants to speak about the SeeD exam." Kohana answered.

"How did you know that?" Ryu said in shock, wondering if the girl had just read his mind.

"You chased the others out of the room. And you've been watching us ever since we left the first train." She responded. "It was obvious that you wanted to speak to us about something that didn't involve the others."

"…Oh. Well. If you don't want to, that's fine." Ryu said back.

She sighed deeply, and rested her head on Kayden's shoulder. "I…don't mind. It's not like I'm going to forget anytime soon anyways, so talking about it won't do any more harm."

"Alright." Kayden nodded his consent. "What part did you wanna talk about?"

"All of it."

"That would take hours. Ronna isn't that good at stalling." Kayden pointed out.

"Then what about the killing of the runners or Suzu…I want to know if what I'm feeling is normal!" Ryu burst out.

"There's no such thing as normal, Ryu." Kohana spoke up once more. "How we react to a situation is deemed by our past experiences and none of us would have the exact same past as the other."

"Don't tell me that. I know. But it's not easy." The dark haired blonde continued. "How are we supposed to live with ourselves after that? How are we supposed to move on? We killed humans…people…"

"Who could have been us; who had the same life we did and did the same things we did. Had family and friends and enjoyed being with them." Kayden continued. "I know. I've thought about it too."

"There isn't much separating us from them." Kohana spoke slowly. "Just sides. And to them, we were the enemy." She paused as if considering a thought. "But there is a difference. Everyone in that army knew what they were doing. They wanted to enslave a peaceful nation and kill others. What separates us is intent. Their intent was to kill innocents and enslave as many as they could, and use that substance to do it. They all knew that that was what they were doing, and they did it anyways. SeeD wanted to protect the people in Dollet and make sure that those that didn't deserve war would never see it."

Ryu blinked. That was the most he had ever heard Kohana say at one time and on one idea.

"But…they didn't have any training." Ryu pointed out.

"They still knew what the army's intent was and agreed with it on some level." Kayden broke in. "They were only where they were because they were the fastest in the army."

"It wasn't fair to place untrained forces in that position! And that's what Garden did to us too. We all could have died, like them. Why didn't the Headmaster do anything to stop it?!" Ryu answered hotly.

"Not everyone agreed with the exam." Kayden said softly. "Instructor Bane told me that he didn't, and he sided with the Headmaster. It was Verauan's idea. And that's why we have to do something about him, before he places others in the same danger we were in."

"But they were still untrained, compared to us!" Ryu responded pulling the topic back to the subject at hand. "And we killed them. I killed them"

"We didn't have much choice in the matter. It was kill or be killed, there was no second net set up in case we couldn't do that. We had to find the strength to move on and complete the mission, or the entire attack would fail. And not only would we have died, but many of the SeeD and Dollet soldiers and the innocents that we were protecting from war." Kohana argued back. "We weren't given any choice in the matter. And we all killed there…not just you; you're not alone in that fact. Everyone in our group killed at least one person, if not more. We were placed in a situation that we should not have been."

"It breaks nearly every rule for the entire armed conflict section of the SeeD manual… not to mention all the rules in armed conflict involving cadets… It's disgusting thinking that Verauan might get away with that." Kayden muttered.

"I'm so confused." Ryu spoke out. "What am I supposed to feel? Is it supposed to be easy for SeeD to kill humans?"

"No. And when it does become easy that's when there's something wrong. There's always another way, unless stated otherwise by the mission, and we should not be so blood thirsty to immediately want to kill. When we can look a human in the eyes and not feel anything for their deaths…that's when the system has failed." Kayden spoke back.

"But it failed us, in the exam!" Ryu muttered. "I'm angry that it happened. I think I lost something in there, and I can't get it back. Like it changed me. They weren't so much different from us. But I guess they did know what they were doing."

"I know. I feel that way too." Kohana stated. "I don't understand what I'm supposed to feel. I feel kinda numb right now, and just really confused."

"And angry, pain, sadness, horror." Kayden listed. "I think it's normal to feel like that; at least after that shared experience. And because we all went through the same situation we would almost be likely to feel the same things."

"I wanna talk to my parents." Ryu continued, shaking slightly as he did.

"I do too." Kayden responded simply. "Once my Dad calms down enough to not try to hunt Verauan down and skewer him with his Hyperion, and my mom's exhausted all of her vocabulary on what she thinks about that situation, they'll know what to say. They've gone through it themselves. I think that's normal to want to talk to them."

"I wish I had parents like yours to talk too." Kohana muttered, glancing downwards as she spoke. "I wish my parents would understand."

"Maybe after they hear what happened to you, you guys will get along better." Ryu hedged. "No true parent wants to see their child upset."

"Mine weren't so considerate." Kohana answered before sighing. "If I tell you something, can you promise me you won't tell _anyone_ else?"

"I promise." Ryu said immediately. "If it's that important."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kayden asked her, glancing downwards at his girlfriend.

"Yeah…I trust him. I haven't been exactly truthful about why my parents and I don't get along. There wasn't a fight. I was taken into Garden at ten because they both were physically and emotionally abusive and child services found out."

"If that's true, then how can you be a SeeD?" Ryu asked in horror.

"I buried the records; had them sealed before I transferred Garden's. I don't want my past to rule me, and so far it hasn't. I also went to therapy in Trabia and they thought I was dealing with it well, and said that it would not be mandatory after I turned fourteen. But...my parents told me I shouldn't have been born and I wasn't worthy to be their daughter. I want to prove that wrong by being a SeeD. I'm okay with it. I know what happened, and I've accepted it. I'm not going to hide from it. I'm just scared if I tell anyone else that it will be revealed any more than what it has, and SeeD will be taken away from me too."

"I won't tell." Ryu promised. 'Well that explains why she has trouble trusting adults. But she has gotten better with that. As long as one of us is around to guide her on who we trust.'

"I don't think my past will affect my actions as a SeeD. It was a long time ago. Can we talk about something else now?" The girl asked pointedly.

"Here we've been talking about our parents like that!" Ryu sputtered. "We must have seemed so cold."

"I understood. You guys got lucky with parents, I didn't…it happens. It's interesting to hear about your parents as you speak of them, like their people and not the celebrities that the public has made them out to be. I like listening."

"Do you ever wish your parents understood?" Ryu asked.

"Well…no. Just I wish I could talk to someone similar to me, so that they would understand me better." Kohana hedged.

"You could try talking to my mom." Kayden answered. "She's gonna like you anyways, and try to kidnap you to get to know you better."

"What?" Kohana asked, sounding confused. "Why?"

"She knows you're my girlfriend. She got it out of me last time I visited. You'll like her, she's really nice." Kayden responded. "She just wants to meet you, and my Dad wants to meet you to tease me about you."

"Huh?"

"He's been gloating ever since he found out I have a girlfriend."

"I don't mean to bring this back up again." Ryu started. "But what about Suzu? Any thoughts?"

"I stand by my decision." Kohana started.

"And I stand by her." Kayden responded just as quickly.

"Me too, but that's not what I meant." Ryu agreed. "I was wondering what you thought of that?"

"I was thinking about his life and how similar it was to ours." Kohana started. "And that someone could create this substance to have it used on others, and what type of person they had to be to take pleasure in their work."

"Suzu's death isn't for nothing. He didn't die in vain." Kayden started. "We have a sample that could save millions, and a chance to protect others. I'm not going to let it go easily."

"Just watching him…" Ryu responded, shivering at the memories invoked by mentioning this aloud. "Are…Are you guys having nightmares too?"

There was a prolonged silence in the room as the three studied each other intently, looking for any sign of who would speak first. Ryu could see by the expression darting across both his friend's eyes that this comment had brought up some memories in them too.

"I can't stop thinking about it." Kohana finally answered. "It's like every moment has been recorded in my mind and it won't stop replaying. I can still hear him screaming, and still smell him dying."

Kayden buried his cheek into her dark hair, closing his eyes against whatever images he was reliving. "I can still see the look in his eyes and the pain in his face. I wake up shivering because I think I'm still there watching."

"I think a part of us will be there forever watching him die. It changed all of us." Kohana responded finally. "And I don't think there's a way to go back from that."

Ryu nodded and the conversation died.

At some point during their talk, the train had started on its trek to Timber, but he had missed both the motion of the train as well as its shrill whistle announcing its intent to leave. He had been too focused on wanting to speak to the others that had endured the same visions as he did. Ryu was grateful that he had, now that he knew that both Kayden and Kohana were feeling the same things he did, it made it easier to live with the memories; it made it easier to live with himself now that he knew he was not alone.

"Do you think if we had gotten to the two sooner…?" Ryu started and left it hanging.

"It's guilt." Kayden answered. "Survivors guilt. We think if we had just been a little faster, stronger or smarter we could have stopped it. If we had been closer to him originally…"

"It was just as likely that we all would have been caught by those men." Kohana spoke up. "He was too far ahead. And we couldn't risk calling out to him…"

"I would have preferred to have my marks docked than that happen!" Kayden burst out.

"That's not what I meant. If we had called out to him, and those men were that close, there could have been more that we didn't know about nearer still and it would have alerted them to our location. No matter what we did in that situation it was not going to end well for us; either by that substance or running into a larger group. There wasn't much we could do." Kohana explained her earlier statement. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel like we missed something. Survivors guilt…sounds right."

Ryu nodded once more.

There was a knock on the door, and the hesitant dark blonde haired girl looked in her friendly brown eyes focusing on his. They weren't identical twins, but there was enough of a resemblance to know that they were siblings. Both had thick waves of dark blond hair and light brown eyes. "Is it safe to come in?" She questioned.

Ryu nodded and just as quickly the three missing from the conversation slipped into the room. Kohana and Kayden made a dive for the offered coffee, fighting over who got the first one. Kohana won, only because Bast stirred up and started to growl lightly at Kayden, possibly thinking that the male gunblader was doing something that threatened his owner. Kayden muttered something about Bast being too well trained and just as big as a suck for her.

Kay immediately released the cup to the triumphant girl and sulkily grabbed the second, while sending a glare down to the dog. Bast just wagged back, with a sweet look of incomprehension donning his face. Kayden sighed and patted him on the head; nothing could win over that look. The dog had nearly everyone wrapped in a neat bow.


	18. Chapter 18

I know it's very late.

I got stuck working on something else and ended up with severe writers block. But a picture my friend Queen000 has on her MSM got me motivated again. I hope you enjoy this chappie

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There was no warning in the next moments. They had all been sitting peacefully minding their own business, with the conversation heading towards light and more jovial subjects than before. Then they all found themselves in an uncomfortable pile on the ground, with screams echoing in their ears as the other passengers responded to the shock of the situation. Ryu tried to shake the stunned Toby off him but another blast rocked through the shattering train and the screams echoing from the other compartments increased in intensity and assaulted his sensitive ears. 

There was a ticking noise, indicating a countdown had begun and another explosion was forth coming. The train rocked dangerously once more, as loud detonations echoed through rooms, followed closely by more screams. Ryu could barely hear the flickering explosions of flames beginning to eat away at the rooms near theirs, and could just feel the heat beginning to increase as the flames got steadily closer. There was one more bang, shaking the train, so close to where the struggling group lay, sending slight shockwaves down to the six on the floor.

There was no warning here, just a slight tipping and then the badly damaged train fully tipped on one side, sending himself and the other sprawling towards the wall that was now on the bottom. He smacked harshly into the eldest boy of the group and he heard Kayden grunt in pain at the impact. Not a second after that, Toby smacked into his back, Kayden grunted in pain once more as more weight was added onto him.

He shifted quickly, relieving Kayden of the burden of his and Toby's added weight. 'I'll be damned.' Ryu found himself thinking. 'The train is getting bombed. Kohana was right.'

He could feel the heat of the flames reaching through the door beginning to heat the surrounding area around himself, which would soon give rise to the wooden interior of the wall catching on fire and trapping them all inside. It was only a few minutes away now. He felt the twinges of panic beginning to stir inside. Dark smoke was already beginning to spill from the opening under the door, making it hard to breathe in without coughing harshly. Ryu tried for one more breath, but the choking darkness only filled his lungs once more, forcing him to cough to try to clear it out. 'We're gonna die…Oh Hyne…we're gonna die in here!'

He half closed his eyes, as the panic began to throw horrible images of what his death would be like. 'What does it feel like to be burned alive?'

"Ryu!" Kohana yelled over the heat and confusion of the moment. "Break the window!"

"How?!" he shot back.

"Use your gun!"

He nodded, finding himself calming as someone had taken control over the situation, once more, when he lost it again. Why it was always Kohana, he did not know. It was like something inside her made her be more inclined to be a leader, but at this moment it didn't matter.

As black smoke trickled under the door, and the wood began to heat beneath them, he took aim with his shot gun, carefully aiming through the smoldering darkness that was beginning to cloud his vision. 'There!' He thought to himself as his aim improved, he felt the shot and believed it would not miss. The gun spoke and the window shattered, sending shards flickering down towards the group as it did. Kohana ducked down, sheltering her dog from the shards of glass that embedded down towards them. She did not see Kayden shift to block the glass from hitting her.

"Kayden…use your bungee equipment. Shoot it through the window and hook onto the side of the train." Kohana yelled once more, choking slightly as the smoke began to cloud her airways.

He could see her look down, watched her give her panting dog a concerned look. Dogs would suffocate faster than humans. Ryu wondered what it was doing to her, having to watch her pet suffer like this and have to keep calm to escape. Most others would have given into the panic of losing something they valued that much and would have given up. 'She's holding on for him.' Ryu realized.

Kayden nodded and quickly set up the shot. They would probably only have one chance at this, before the fire began to eat away at the door. Ryu found himself wondering how their Instructor and Headmaster were fairing during this venture. He blinked and caught the sight of the dark elastic like line shooting through the air before it hooked onto the outside of the car. Kayden pulled on it, checking to see if it would support his weight.

"Only take what you can carry. Items and weapons only. We don't have time for anything else." Kohana instructed again, still sheltering her dog from the heat that was steadily growing worse as the seconds ticked on.

Ryu was glad she was around; when it seemed that no one else could take control in a desperate situation, Kohana would step up and assume leadership of the group. Ryu watched as Kayden quickly climbed up his bungee line, reaching the window and reinforcing the grip on the outer side of the wall. Breana and Toby followed soon after, climbing up quickly, each carrying their weapons between them. He swept his gun into the holster and nodded to his sister.

Kohana would not be able to support Bast and her Gunblade when leaving the train, and if presented with the choice of leaving her weapon or her pet in a compartment that was soon to erupt into flames she would not hesitate to save her beloved animal first. He gestured towards the black dog, and saw Kohana's grateful look answering his quiet statement. Ryu gripped the dog around the middle, carefully balancing the badly panting and whimpering pet on his hip before using his free hand to latch onto the rope and curved his legs upwards to create a lower grip on it. As soon as he had the rope in one hand, he switched his hold on the dog, so that he was resting on his legs and, without waiting a moment longer, hauled himself and the dog up the rope using the strength in his arms alone.

As soon as he got close enough, Kayden reached down and plucked the upset animal from him and lifted Kohana's pet out of harms way and out the window. Ryu could hear the dog breathing harshly, getting fresh untainted air into its lungs. He too took a desperate gulp of the outside air, feeling the lightheadedness fading the more oxygen he took in.

Ryu continued the climb and had just pulled himself out when the train, shaking slightly to regain his strength when another detonation blasted through the air once more, aimed at the doomed train. Thankfully, it did not slide any further onto the ground at the most recent impact to its shattering hall.

He caught his sister's hand and yanked her out of the window before she lost grip on the rope. If he had missed it would have taken both Ronna and Kohana down as she fell back to what now was the floor. Behind them, they could almost see the flames beginning to eat away at the wooden walls of their compartment.

Kohana was half way up the rope when the first of the fire started to eat away at the wall beneath her. She gripped the rope tightly, holding on with only one hand, and, without pause, a stream of water erupted from her outstretched balled fist, aimed down at the flames that were just forming beneath her. The water hit the angry flames and it temporarily doused the effects of the choking fires, giving her the moments she needed to escape the coffin like room.

She was just at the window when Kayden cursed suddenly.

Ryu looked away from the girl for only a moment to catch sight of what had caused Kayden to become so upset that he would resort to swearing. There beneath him were people running to and fro, looking for an escape from the advancing army. The attackers were not strangers, not to them.

The army beneath them was wearing the formal uniforms of SeeDs from both Galbadia and Balamb Garden and they were attacking everyone that got in their way, slicing down innocents with the practiced ease of seasoned killers. Swords flickered in the light, followed soon by guns and other firearms. Several shurikens and daggers danced across the landscape slicing into the panicked people below.

Ryu blinked in shock at the carnage he was witnessing occurring around him. Just ahead of him, a woman ran with her husband. There was no escape, as they were brought into a net of death and neatly, as if it were nothing, the two were killed. Their empty bleeding bodies fell to the ground stacking up on others that were already dead.

There was death everywhere, and Ryu was sure he was going to be sick once more. He could not make out any civilians that were alive; all were lying dead or dying due to the injuries they had sustained. He ducked back into the hidden section of the train window that the five were sitting on, just as a group turned in their direction. 'Please don't see us…please…'

Kohana climbed up a second later and immediately caught sight of their situation. "What the hell?!" She responded, shock evident in her tone.

A moment later Ryu tugged her back into the shadow of the window, hiding as a group of SeeDs passed the window. Something was said between the group and it caused the others to laugh. It was sickening that someone could find something to be amused at by this situation; how cold that person had to be.

"A Galbadian SeeD shot at me!" Kayden said in outraged shock. "Right at me. I cast protect, but he shot at me!"

Kohana did not answer, watching the fight carefully.

"They're SeeDs'" Ronna spoke up. "What are they doing?! Why are they doing this?!!" Her tone became more desperate as she continued. "Why?! I don't understand!"

Ryu reached out and took her hand with his, hoping to draw her attention to him and off the horrible fight occurring around them.

"They're not SeeDs." Kohana remarked slowly, her gaze traveling back to the hideous battle occurring just steps away from their location. "They're only dressed like us. They're not SeeDs."

'How can she seem so calm?!' Ryu thought to himself. 'But just because she seems not to feel what's going on doesn't mean she doesn't…just that she chooses to deal with it later. Right now she's the leader, and we all need her to keep calm…I need her to keep calm.'

"Look." Kohana continued. "There's no magic. Galbadian AND Balamb SeeDs know how to use magic but there's nothing, even at an opportunity to cast magic. That ones injured…" Kohana continued, pointing subtly in the direction to a wounded member of the 'SeeD' army. "But no one's casting a curative spell on him…they don't know how. They're not SeeDs."

"What do we do?" Ryu found himself asking.

"We have to find a more secure location…We're vulnerable up here." Kayden realized. "But who do we trust. I don't recognize anyone." The boy continued peering out at the army surrounding the train.

"No one. We run." Kohana said simply. "We only trust people we know. On the count of five we charge. Don't worry about taking them out, we just have to break through the lines and get away."

"Then what?" Bre asked.

"Back to the city, it gives us an opportunity to hide and regroup." Kohana answered. "We're more likely to be missed by these impostors if we're surrounded by civilians."

"Are they looking for us?" Breana asked once more.

"I'm not sure, but I'm not going to stay around to find out. Kayden and I are first, then Bre and Ronna, Ryu and Toby your last. Ryu, you cover us and Toby, you heal us or cast offensive magic spells. Take out as many as can that are coming in to the right or left of us, and if you can try to take out some from further ahead as well, don't hesitate. Watch for those that have firearms. Breana and Ronna, pay more attention to the side lines but watch the front to. Kayden and I will be the main charge and will deal with the majority that approach us from the front. We head in the general direction left. Kayden and I will push in that direction, you four just have to follow. Everyone cast protect as well."

"Will that work?" Ronna asked; Ryu nodded to wondering the same thing.

They all looked to her. Ryu watched as her serious eyes darted once more to the army surrounding the train and then back. 'She's giving us orders and keeping an eye on the situation. She would make a good SeeD. Hell, she's already a good leader.'

"They'll expect us to be panicked without a strategy for getting through. If we stick together as a group we're more likely to surprise them. Toby, can you take Bast with you? Just jump with him and then put him down, he'll stay with you." Kohana directed once more. "If we move, we move now. The army still doesn't have the train completely surrounded and their forces are disjointed and separated unevenly. The majority are to the right of us…the city is to the left."

"Sure…no problem." Toby answered honestly. "I'll take care of Bast; promise. Just remember to do your part." The boy joked slightly.

"I will."

"What about the Headmaster and Instructor Bane?" Ryu asked.

"This might seem cold, but we don't have the time to worry about them right now. The Headmaster is with trained SeeDs. I'm sure they're fine. We have to worry about ourselves." Kohana answered back. "We act as our training dictates and retreat to a secure hiding location. If it's possible we rendezvous with them, but for now we're on our own. Ready?" She asked directing the question to everyone.

They all nodded to the plan and there were six flares of light blue as the protect spells surrounded them completely before turning invisible not a moment later. Kayden held up a hand and slowly counted down the seconds, starting from five. Ryu could feel himself mentally preparing as Kayden reached the last second; and as that finger fell he found himself following the four down the side of the train, almost using the tilting side as a slide to reach the ground.

Kayden and Kohana landed first and right behind them Breana and Ronna. Next to him, Bast and Toby landed on the ground. There was no pause and no hesitation as all darted out, pulling out their primary weapons as they did and without thought, he found himself charging through the shocked army. He shot ahead occasionally and to the sides, clearing a path for them to run. Ryu did not hesitate and when one came into his sight with a firearm aimed at the group, he would shoot ahead and take that person down before they could be shot at. Beside him, Toby fired spell after spell at the enemies trying to surround the group from the sides, and if there was more gathering ahead he would direct his aim ahead instead.

It was an effective system; clearing out the army from the sides so that they could not be surrounded and cut off from one another. Ryu continued following the skill of the Gunbladers, thankful finally that he had a long range weapon and did not need to come in close range to those he needed to kill. He wondered for a moment, in the heat of the battle, what that one fact was doing to the two leaders of their charge. How many people they had looked in the eye and then had to kill, how many nightmares would haunt their sleeping vision now?

The soldiers were not trained as SeeDs, but had more training than the civilians they had killed. When presented with a group trained as SeeDs, they were pushed away and back at the individual skills that came from all and could not come close to the group to injure them.

It was a sickening cycle. This group killing those that had no experience in fighting and then being killed by those that had some training in self defence. Ryu wondered when it would end.

Ryu tried not to think of how many he would kill today, just so he would remain alive; trying not to watch as their bodies fell dead, to his skill with a shotgun. Beside him Toby fired a curative spell onto Kayden and continued to cure the group, before refocusing on spilling forth as many offensive spells as he could: fires, blizzards, water, thunders and tornado's; anything that could take out multiple enemies with one spell.

Ryu knew why Kohana had set one magic user of the group, so that he would be able to concentrate on magic only and not have to fight those approaching him. Toby had been picked as he was an extreme close ranged fighter and would not be able to get close enough to injure the soldiers without experiencing some damage himself.

As the fight continued, the group pushed further and further away from the doomed train, and into the advancing army of fake SeeDs. He watched as the Gunblades flickered and twirled around, sending rivets of blood dancing up from the bodies they destroyed and their individual triggers went off in only seconds of intervals to one another. 'How many have they killed this afternoon…I wonder if they're counting?'

Ryu watched as Breana threw her Javelin ahead into a body and would wait until the Gunbladers passed the corpse to retrieve her primary weapon; she would rely on her supply of backup daggers or her stocked magic to attack any that fell in her range in between those times. Ronna danced out and would strike down an enemy with the flickering swords of her katana's, pushing them between the blades until they died and if none were close enough to her she would send spells in the direction of the enemy. Both girls shot magic; fire, ice, water, thunder and status effect spells, out above the heads of the two leaders of the group and to the sides to increase the odds of their escape.

He continued to fire to the sides ensuring that a large force would not be able to surround them. Ryu also shot over the shoulders of the gunbladers, clearing a path, knowing that the amount of energy it took from the leaders of the charge to maintain the energy and stamina to hold off the numbers ahead would soon wane as the adrenaline fled their bodies and exhaustion would set in. If that were to happen, they would then be less effective in holding up their end of the plan.

Taking aim once more, he shot down another man as he approached from the left, and another fell after that. 'How many lives will I end today?' He thought to himself.

Ryu flicked his gaze ahead, and saw a potential danger occurring ahead of the two gunbladers. They were overwhelmed with the numbers that were charging in right now and ahead of where they could reach, two people stood, aiming firearms at the pair. He did not even think, just switched his target and shot them both down.

Kayden threw him a grateful look before switching back and pushing at the number that were bearing down on them now. The soldiers hesitated, now that their plot had been foiled by his quick reflexes, and were slow to react to the twin katana's, the thrown javelin and the two gunblades that advanced into them.

Their numbers were increasing, no matter how many they took out. It looked like their desperate push to the outskirts of the battle would soon fail.

"This isn't working!" Kohana yelled suddenly. "There's too many of them. Everyone cast haste on themselves and get ready to run in the direction of the city. We wait at the entrance for everyone to show up! Toby!"

"I got him!" Toby answered, reassuring their leader that her pet would be fine.

Ryu closed his eyes and summoned forth the magic spell he needed. He noted to his left that Toby had stopped casting magic spells and had scooped up the black dog in his arms instead. Ahead of them the Gunbladers each took out the closest of their enemies before changing their stance, indicating that they were about to cast their own spells. He concentrated once more and felt the shift in time begin as the magic flowed out of his extended hands and surrounded him. Everyone, other than the members of his group, were moving so slowly in his sight. Rather they were moving at normal speed, but the haste spell he had cast on himself made it seem like their motions were slowed and bulky and only occurred after several minutes of pause. Ryu knew that that was only an affect of the spell he had cast.

He ran, keeping up with the blurry figures of his friends back towards the city they had just left. If they pulled this off successfully then it would appear to the soldiers that the small group of fighters had vanished from sight, being there one second and gone the next. They only had a few seconds to run through the army and away from the danger they had inadvertently found themselves in. He only had a few seconds to muse and then he realized that their destination was approaching rapidly as the group continued their run from the attacking army and back into the relative safety of the city. 'At least it will be safer in there then out here.'

And before he knew what was happening he shifted out of the haste spell and back to regular time, just as those around him made the shift too. Just ahead of them, Kohana, Kayden, Breana and Ronna were breathing hard, trying to catch their breaths from the dangerous run they had all undertook to escape the approaching army. Behind them, the sounds of the battle echoed dully in their ears, it seemed so far away, but in reality the train was just outside the city limits. He could see the fire licking at the top of the train now, from his position on the ground.

What was it about Kohana that made him listen and made him follow? What was it about her that made them all follow, even Kayden? There was a spark in her, a light that shone deep inside, that attracted people to her even if she wished they would stay away. He had felt the light once before, when looking up into her shadowed grey eyes in the cavern where his life changed for the worse, and somehow she had made it feel in that moment that it would be okay.

Ryu had felt it as she took charge of the group when no one else could think through the sickening smoke. For some reason, that spark that resided deep inside her reminded the shotgun specialist of someone; but in this moment he could not think of who that was.

Bast whined in a tone that suggested he was not pleased with where he found his present location to be. There was definitely a note of displeasure that echoed in the dog's voice from underneath the collapsed Toby. Bast squirmed his way out from under the tired boy's body and made a beeline for Kohana, climbing into her lap and licking her face with his long and wet tongue. She twitched at the touch and immediately seemed to pull herself together. Bast moved from his position and the girl slowly climbed to her feet and looked around at their surroundings.

Ryu was surprised at how much endurance such a small person could have. How quickly the girl could pull back in the residual energy she had after that desperate attack and resume her role as the leader. It was not something anyone could do.

Ahead of them, Ryu noted, probably at the same moment that Kohana did, Galbadian army guards were staring at them in shock; having a group of kids just seemingly appear right in front of them. Their dark blue and silver uniforms immediately told the cadet that they were lower class soldiers and really were not a threat to them.

She shifted her stance, indicating that she expected some form of attack from them, but remained in a non confrontational pose. Ryu found himself climbing to his feet, followed quickly by the other recovering members of his group and moved to flank Kohana.

"Hey…It's SeeD Cadets!" One yelled, after their shock had seemingly died. "SeeD is attacking the train systems! They're involved!"

"Get them!!!" Several yelled at once and began to slowly surround himself and his friends.

From the expression that darted across Kohana's face she had been expecting this recent development but still was not overly pleased that it had occurred anyway.

'As if it could get any worse!" Ryu thought to himself as the small group of city guards continued to approach and with what they thought was subtly timed movements they carefully began to surround the tired group of fighters on all sides.

"What do we do?" Breana asked desperately, staring at the people surrounding them. "They think we're involved with the attack! We can't fight them or it will look bad on us!"

"Run!!!" Kohana directed suddenly.

Without waiting for a more clear order the group of five darted after their leader and out of the net the soldiers were setting up, Toby took out the ones closer to him, knocking some down with quick and barely seen attacks, Kayden charged the leader of the group and took him down before any sense of the situation could be made. Ronna tripped one up to her left and Bre continued the assault by slamming a knee into the back of his spine. Kohana was the only one that got through without having to resort to fighting with the soldiers.

Once they were past the city guards all continued their interrupted run back into the city, following the girl and her dog into the confusing maze of streets and avenues, all the while following Kohana even though she had no idea of where she was leading them. Then again he also had no idea of where he was going, and assumed that the others were just as lost as he was in the large city.

They all had made their choice while watching the horrific fight from the side of the train; each and every one had chosen to trust her and had turned to her when they needed someone to be their leader. And now that the decision had been made, there was no going back from that.

Ryu lost sight of the slowly moving guards as they took turn after turn, keeping up with the quickly moving girl as best they could. There were shouts of anger from the surprised guards they left behind as their youth allowed them to keep ahead of the soldiers as well as slowly increase the distance between them and the soldiers as they continued to run.

The only ones that usually were able to keep up with a pack of slightly panicked SeeD cadets were other cadets and SeeD themselves. And by then it was usually the cadets that would fall behind the SeeDs. Kohana slowed, warning those behind her that she thought it was safe to stop running as they had lost the guards several blocks ago when she had ducked into the first alley way and ran through a crowded park full of surprised people who just stood there and watched in shock as the easily recognizable Cadets from Galbadia Garden charged through their peaceful lunches with their family.

After clearing the park path, Kohana changed direction, spearing instead into the trees that sat at the end of the park. The shadows flowed over them as they continued to gain distance they needed from the guards, and before he was ready to, Ryu found himself back on a main street in Deling city.

There were civilians that were also shouting in anger as he dodged past them, making sure he did not accidentally send one sprawling to the ground with his speed. It was almost more difficult to dodge them as the civilians tried to dodge them at the same time.

Kohana ducked into an almost invisible alley way and moved down giving the others enough room to slink out of sight of the streets surrounding them on either side and all of them sat down to give themselves a second to breathe. Bast amused himself by slinking up to his owner's side and slipping onto her lap once more. Ryu found himself, for a second time, wondering what happened to their Headmaster and their Instructor after the train was bombed. He just hoped they were all alright.

"Can anything else go wrong today?" Kayden exploded finally.

"Don't say that." Breana advised from her position at the wall. "Whenever you say that, something else does go wrong…"

"Shhh." Kohana hushed them suddenly.

Ryu shied into the shadows and listened for whatever noise had caused the girl to start so badly. His eyes widened at what he saw.


End file.
